Worship, Praise, and Deeper Spiritual Warfare

When we look at the document, here is the order: worship first, then praise, then cleansing, covering ourselves, and finally petitioning. So many times we come to the Lord and immediately start asking — "Lord, I need this, Lord, please do that" — and we forget to worship and praise him first. He doesn't want us just asking for things. He wants to communicate with us. He wants intimacy with us, and there is no better way than through the blessed Holy Spirit and the word of God. Take this template and make it your own. Change it to what the Holy Spirit is leading you to do. The template itself is not what's powerful — it's the word of God.

The word is sharper than a two-edged sword. We sometimes forget to use it in our prayer life. The shorter two- or three-minute prayers are wonderful and God hears them, but when it comes to deeper warfare — intercession, breaking bondages — we need to go deeper. For example, if you're attacked with anxiety, go to Philippians 4: *"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with the peace of God — the Shalom of God — which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."* Quote those scriptures directly and I promise you the anxiety will flee. The depression will flee. The lust will flee. It may not happen in one day or one week, but if you continue on the journey, you will be delivered.

Sometimes the Lord takes us on a journey rather than delivering us instantly, and there is a reason for that. If he delivers us without the journey, we often don't develop the convictions to stay free — and we go back to the vomit. He wants us to come through it with such deep conviction that we never return. That's just what has been revealed to me, and I'm excited about it. I know what it has done in my life.

So with that, let's get into a good place. Let's enter into the spirit and see what the Lord does. We're going to begin with worship and praise out of Psalms 113 through 118, and then we'll move into the document. TV off, radio off — a quiet place. Let's see what the Lord does tonight.