“Johosphaphat in the valley of decision was facing great external threat.  Not just one enemy, but an alliance was coming against him producing insurmountable odds for victory.  His first step was to humble himself in the midst of this great trial.  Three elements of spiritual discipline put God’s covenant people in a right position for victory:  Fasting, Prayer, and Praise.  With these spiritual dynamics working, prophecy and revelation could be released so that in this valley they would emerge victorious.  Their battle was one of praise and worship.  God’s battle was to dismantle and remove the enemy by dispatching the Hosts of Heaven.”  Chuck Pierce

Pray for these three things for every intercessor:

• That God may enlarge our heart – Pray that it beats with the passion and concerns of God for our world and that through fasting, prayer and worship we would position ourselves for victory.

• That we would pray diligently – Pray that each one of us would pray diligently, fervently and strategically for our leaders and the world situation, and see it from God’s perspective.

• That we would transition into this end-time season – Pray that God would help us to make the shift that He is requiring into a new end times season and that we would praise and thank Him continually, drop all of our idols, walk in faith and make His presence the central theme in our lives.
  

We are now in a time of change and a season of shifting. How the Church chooses is how the conflict of the nations will be determined.  Most of us are reflecting this place of “choice” in our personal lives.  Many of us are making key choices right now in relationships, positions (both territorial as well as vocational), and ministry alignments. We need to be people with a large heart for God and His world. We need to understand what to do and how to face this change that is upon us. The choices we are making now will release our supply for the future.

The following are parts of what Chuck Pierce says:

“Worship God.  Exalt Him for your key victories and thank Him for His grace even in your past mistakes.”  As we present ourselves to God without reserve and empty ourselves before Him, we can clearly hear without confusion the choice He has before us. The Lord would bring our heart and mind to a place of peace. Peace means wholeness. The blood of our Savior can deliver us from the curse and cause us to enter into the eternal blessings in heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3).

When we make His Presence our central theme, the voice of blessing will become louder than the voice of cursing. If we choose blessing, then the events of the world will line up with the choice of God’s people. When we align ourselves with the Head, the manifestation of that choice will set the course in the earth realm. The Lord is opening His TREASURE in heaven based upon this choice that His people are making.

Activate your will NOW and align it with God’s so that the confusion that is occurring in the world will not cause you to shake, but will cause you to stand steady in the midst of the war ahead. Elijah was in a contest on Mount Carmel with the prophets of Baal. This was to determine who was Lord of the region. The people were double minded.  God defied all human reasoning. It was Elijah against the 450 – impossible odds in the natural – yet nothing was impossible with the Lord. Again on Mount Carmel, worship became the turning point. Elijah built an altar in the name of the Lord and allowed the “river of God” to flow. Then the fire from heaven fell. This caused the people to see that “God, the Lord, He is God!”

In this choice, we must be willing to confront our enemies and to worship in the midst of our enemies. We must also demonstrate God’s power in such a way that a religious world who has only seen a form of godliness and denied the power thereof will have no question that we must have supernatural help and intervention at this time in history.”

“Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me (Psalm 144:1-2).

Our stronghold for victory will come in our standing in God’s word. Enemy strongholds bring serious devastation into our lives. They hinder our victorious stance in prayer by keeping us preoccupied with negative thinking. The devil has a strategy for his warfare, a well-laid out plan of deliberate deception. He hates prayer and will do anything to stop us, but Christ has brought the victory by the word of His power in truth and love.

How can we face and break free of enemy strongholds; how do we overcome these defeating thoughts? Always remember this: Our mind is the battlefield. How can we have God’s spirit flow through our lives unhindered by this negative and destructive thinking? The problems we are dealing with here are internal thoughts and attitudes. Satan knows that by controlling our thoughts he can influence our actions. Let us look at ways to face and overcome the enemy strongholds in our lives.

“It is so important for you to come to grips with the fact that your life will not get straightened out until your mind does. You should consider this area one of vital necessity. Be serious about tearing down the strongholds Satan has built in your mind. Use your weapons of the Word, praise and prayer.” Joyce Meyer

How to Face Enemy Strongholds

“One of your weapons is prayer (asking). You can’t overcome your situation by determination alone. You do need to be determined, but determined in the Holy Spirit, not in the effort of your own flesh. The Holy Spirit is your Helper – seek His help. Lean on Him. You can’t make it alone.”  Joyce Meyer

• We must realize that we cannot destroy personal strongholds by ourselves – The battle is in the spirit realm. God’s divine power will demolish strongholds. Only He can do it. We often try to take surface thoughts captive, not knowing the root thoughts from which the surface ones spring.
  “Lord, I realize that I cannot destroy the strongholds in my life by myself. I acknowledge my dependence on You to do it.”

  “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Corinthians 10:3-4).

• We must be determined to ask God to deal with the strongholds in our lives – He will not do it without our willingness and He is the only one who can demolish the strongholds, fortresses, vain imaginations and arguments. Our flesh doesn’t want to see them. Our flesh wants to live the old way. We need to invite God to show us the strong-holds and motivations of our hearts and to help us bring His victory to them.
  “Lord, I determine to deal with the strongholds in my life. I ask You to get to the roots, the childlike thoughts. I ask You to show me the motivations of my heart and my hurtful ways. I invite You into the center of my life to reveal to me the lies I have believed.”

  “Search me (thoroughly), O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way ever-lasting” (Psalm 139:23-24).

• We must be aware of our thoughts – Is your self-talk like this? “I’m no good,” “I’m a failure,” “I never can do anything right,” “Life is hopeless,” Although they are simple thoughts, these types of thoughts can indicate strongholds. Get a piece of paper, put it near your bed, and write down your thoughts every time you start feeling down, discouraged, depressed, etc. Be aware of sudden negative emotions, as they can be your indication that you are touching a stronghold. As you practice watching your thoughts and looking for false mindsets, you are able to see them more clearly.
  “Lord, make me aware of my thoughts. Show me my strongholds and negative thought patterns in my life. Help me to recognize these patterns very quickly. Open my eyes to see the lies that I have been believing and the truth of your Word.”

  “Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking” (1 Peter 3:1).

• We must be patient and persistent – It took you a lifetime to reinforce these strongholds, these negative thought patterns. It takes time and effort to be free of them. We all want a quick fix. The quickest fix is if you determine to deal with them on a daily basis. Don’t give up, but face them every time you start feeling down.
  “Lord, give me endurance and patience to walk free of these negative thought patterns. I know that it is not a quick fix. I accept Your timetable in dealing with these strongholds. I choose to be persistent in dealing with them.”

  “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” (Galatians 6:9).

• We must be alert and recognize these strongholds quickly –As you practice watching your thoughts and looking for false mindsets, you are able to see them more clearly.

  “Lord, make me alert and help me to recognize these patterns very quickly. Open my eyes to see the lies that I have been believing and the truth of Your Word.”

  “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith…” (1 Peter 5:8-9).

“The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom should I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid” (Psalm 27:1).

By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC

“In the court of heaven, Scripture is the law! When we approach God with His Word, we can be assured of a heavenly audience. Each argument we make before Judge Jehovah should be offered on the basis of what He has said. After all, the law (Scripture) is the language of the court. So, prayer is an appeal of faith based on the Word of God. Sometimes we can predict the verdict God will render because we know what God has said.” Eddie and Alice Smith

• The Word of God is needed in effective prayer – When we pray the Word, we can more effectively communicate our desires because our hearts are filled with Scripture.
• The Word of God is a book of prayer – Prayer and the Word are a powerful combination that produces dynamic intercession. Praying the Word will bring creativity and depth into your prayer life.
• The Word of God helps you declare God’s promises – David knew this. He prayed in I Chronicles 17:23-24, “And now, Lord let the promises you have made concerning your servant and his house be established forever. Do as you promised, so that it will be established and that your name will be great forever.” 

• The Word of God establishes support to our prayers – In the same way as evidence brings support to an earthly law case, our bringing the Word of God to support our prayers in heaven establish support to our prayers.
• The Word of God is the law prayed in the courtroom of heaven – God is true to His Word. When we bring in His Word as an argument of truth in our prayers, God has to answer.
• The Word of God increases faith in prayer – When you pray God’s Word, you cannot help but grow in faith. The spoken Word in our prayers creates a “yes” in our spirits and rises up into faith-filled prayers. I have seen this again and again.
• The Word of God helps us pray the will of God – Oh, that we but understand that the Holy Spirit is essentially the Spirit of the Word and the Spirit of prayer! He will cause the Word to become a joy and a light in our souls, and he will also most surely help us in prayer to know the mind and will of God, and find in it our delight.
• Jesus prayed the Word of God while on earth – He used the Word of God as He prayed in Matthew 4 when He was tempted by Satan. He is our example.

“Think of the Lord Jesus: in His youth and manhood He treasured the Word in His heart. In the temptation in the wilderness, and on every opportunity that presented itself… He showed that the Word of God filled His heart. And in His prayer life He manifested two things: first that the Word supplies us with material for prayer and encourages us in expecting everything from God. The second is that it is only by prayer that we can live such a life that every word of God can be fulfilled in us.” Andrew Murray


By Debbie Przybylski
Intercessors Arise International
IHOPKC