Your Battles Belong to the Lord

by Joyce Meyer

  I have noticed frequently that after I have prayed about something, my next thought is, That isn’t going to accomplish anything. It wasn’t long enough, or fervent enough. Some Bible translations of James 5:16 tell us that the “fervent” prayer of the righteous person is powerful. The word fervent may give us the idea that our prayers need to be intense, and although that is one part of the definition of the word, fervent also means “to be sincere and heartfelt.” My prayers are usually simple, but they are sincere. I think the devil wants us to believe that prayer should always be hard work and that we need to feel deep emotion concerning what we pray about. That may be the case at times, but it is the sincerity of our prayers and the faith offered with them that makes them effective, not what we feel, or whether we cry or not, or how loud or long we pray. Be cautious not to let the devil deceive you concerning the validity of your prayers. When you pray in faith, God hears and He answers in His way and in His timing.

  There are times when we labor in prayer concerning a serious situation. Jesus prayed so intensely in the Garden of Gethsemane in preparation for His crucifixion that “His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down on the ground” (Luke 22:44). Epaphras wrestled in prayer for the Colossians (see Col. 4:12). While there may be labor and wrestling in prayer at times, I believe a great deal of our prayer is interwoven throughout the day and should become as simple as breathing. I like to use the phrase “Pray your way through the day.”

  God has taught me that if prayer is sincere, it doesn’t need to be eloquent or even necessarily long. God sees our hearts, and He doesn’t judge the quality of our prayers as we might think He would. He only looks at the sincerity, faith, and confidence with which we pray.

  God’s will is for us to be able to pray with confidence and assurance. Our prayers are not meant to be uncertain. We are not meant to be vague and doubtingly groping after God, thinking that if we’re lucky, we might get an answer to our request. No! This is not true prayer. This kind of prayer doesn’t receive answers from God. We are not slinging mud balls with prayer requests written on pieces of paper at God, hoping they will stick.

  This is the [remarkable degree of] confidence which we [as believers are entitled to] have before Him: that if we ask anything according to His will, [that is, consistent with His plan and purpose] He hears us. And if we know [for a fact, as indeed we do] that He hears and listens to us in whatever we ask, we [also] know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted to us] the requests which we have asked from Him.

  1 John 5:14–15

  I recommend that you take some time and slowly read these two verses a few times, and give much thought to the immensity of what they are saying. The apostle John had full assurance regarding answered prayer, and he desired the same assurance for those to whom he wrote, and that includes us.

  You may ask, “What if we don’t pray according to God’s plan and purpose?” This Scripture indicates He only hears prayers prayed according to His will. While it is true that God won’t give us something that is not best for us, we should rejoice in that fact and trust that He will guide us to something even better.

  One way we can be assured of praying God’s will is to pray the Scriptures. Simply take a verse or a passage of Scripture and turn it into prayer for someone else or for yourself. This can easily be done with 1 John 5:14–15. The prayer would sound something like this:

  “Father, I ask for a remarkable degree of confidence as I pray. I want to pray for Your plan and purpose and I ask that You guide me. If I do pray amiss, then I trust You will not give me what I ask for, but that You will guide me to ask for Your will. I believe that if I ask anything according to Your plan, then You will hear me, and I believe with absolute assurance that You will grant the request I make of You. Thank You, Father. I ask it in Jesus’ name!”

  You may follow this same pattern with almost any Scripture.

  There are, of course, many things you will want and need to pray about that are not specifically covered by Bible verses. We should always pray that these be granted to us only if it is God’s will. We can pray with assurance that God will give us His will and that it will come at the exact right time in the exact right way!

  The Power of Prayer

  The promises of God concerning prayer are almost too incredible for us to believe, but they are true. It is good to keep a book on prayer close by and refer to it frequently as a way of keeping your faith fresh and strong. The Kneeling Christian, which I mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, is one I refer to frequently merely to feed my faith.

  We feed our faith with God’s Word, and it is wise to always feed your spirit in areas that are especially important. The power and necessity of prayer is at the top of the list. There are countless great books on prayer, so find one that is helpful to you and simple to read, and use it often. One that might help and encourage you is my book The Power of Simple Prayer.

  The Unknown Christian writes in his book that when we get to heaven and see things from God’s viewpoint, we will be astonished that we didn’t pray more and wonder why we let this power slip by us untapped so many times. It could only be because we are still learning how important and powerful prayer is. I think we can learn to live in an attitude of prayer, always having our hearts uplifted to God while knowing we need His help in all we do.

  The apostle James mentions Elijah and says that although he was a man with appetites and passions like ours, he prayed and God did amazing things. Elijah wasn’t a perfect man, just as we are not perfect, but that didn’t stop him from praying, and it must not stop us (see James 5:17). Satan will tell us we are not good enough to pray and that we especially are not good enough to expect God to do much for us. But remember that Satan is a liar and that he hates prayer. He works diligently to persuade us to neglect prayer. I think it is safe to say that Satan is afraid of our prayers. He knows that when we pray, God moves on our behalf to do things that will ultimately prevent him from accomplishing the evil he has planned for us. We should remember how powerful prayer is, and that Satan will do anything and everything he can to keep us from praying with confidence.

  The Four “Wows” of Prayer

  There are four promises in John 14, 15, and 16 that I call the four “wows” of prayer. We often use the word wow to describe something so amazing we simply don’t know what else to say. The scriptural promises regarding prayer that I want to share with you in this section are definitely wow material.

  Before we go over the Scriptures, I would like to ask you to think about and make a decision to believe the promises they present. We may read many things that could be helpful to us, but if we don’t believe them strongly enough to act on the information, then it is useless to us. Since effective prayer is such an important part of spiritual warfare, we will do well to believe everything God’s Word says about it.

  • Wow # 1: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:12–14 ESV).

  • Wow #2: “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (John 15:7–8 NKJV).

  • Wow #3: “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you” (John 15:16 NASB).

  • Wow #4: “Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full” (John 16:24 ESV).

  These four Scriptures make incredible promises, and we should believe them and pray not out of obligation or as a religious duty, but in anticipation and joy. If we believe these promises, what could possibly keep us from praying?


  Prayer not only helps us in our times of need, but it helps and strengthens us always, enabling us to bear much fruit for God’s Kingdom.

  Hindrances to Answered Prayer

  Satan knows we can accomplish more through our prayers than we can through our work, and he does his utmost to hinder our prayers. He would rather we do anything other than pray.

  There are many hindrances to having our prayers answered, but I would like to mention just four of them.

  1. Hidden Sin

  The first hindrance to answered prayer is hidden sin. God’s Word says that if we hide iniquity in our hearts, God will not hear us (see Ps. 66:18). I recommend that we begin our prayers by repenting of all sin known or unknown because we want to approach God with clean, pure hearts.

  2. Doubt

  Doubt is a second hindrance to answered prayer. For this reason Satan tries to steal our assurance concerning prayer. He doesn’t want us to pray, but if we do, he wants us to doubt the validity of our prayers or to wonder if they will be answered. James tells us that we can ask God for help when we need it and that He will give it without reproach or faultfinding—but the request must be in faith, with no doubting or wavering (see James 1:5–8).

  In case the phrase “without reproach or faultfinding” is unfamiliar to you, let me explain it in my own words. If you have made mistakes and gotten yourself into a mess, and you realize you need God’s help, go ahead and ask for it. He will help you, and He won’t make you feel guilty or ashamed of what you have done in the process. God won’t say, “I’ll help you, but you sure don’t deserve it after what you did.” He wants us to have a repentant heart and come boldly and ask for the help we need.

  I cannot say I never have any doubt, so when I do I am honest with God. I try to follow the example of the father who went to Jesus to ask for his child’s healing. Jesus asked the father if he believed, and he told Jesus that he did believe, but needed help with his unbelief (see Mark 9:20–24).

  The father’s doubt did not prevent him from receiving the help he sought. If we focus on the great faith we do have rather than the little bit of doubt we may have, I believe we will also see answers to our prayers.

  3. Selfishness

  Selfishness is a third hindrance to answered prayer. Selfishness is all about me and what I want, with no concern for others. God’s Word teaches us to live exactly the opposite from this. We are to forget ourselves, entrust ourselves to God, and live to help, please, and make others happy.

  I think it is safe to say that overcoming selfishness is a lifetime challenge. I never have to try to be selfish, but oftentimes I do have to remind myself to not be selfish. Even in prayer I think our natural inclination is to pray for what we want and need first and foremost. But remember the prayer of Jehoshaphat, and recall that his request was at the bottom of his list while praise and gratitude were at the top.

  God gives all of us the ministry of intercession, which means we have the privilege of praying for others. The Holy Spirit may lead you to pray for someone who does not know how to pray, or you may be led to join your prayers with those of someone who is already praying but needs some added strength. The more we unify in prayer, the more powerful our prayers become. I know when I am sick or going through something difficult, I want as many people praying for me as possible, and I am sure you do also. There is certainly nothing wrong with asking God for what we want and need, but if that is all we do when we pray, it is selfish and may hinder our prayers from being answered.

  4. Refusing to Forgive

  Without a doubt, the refusal to forgive those who have hurt us is the biggest hindrance to answered prayer. God has stated plainly that if we don’t forgive others their offenses against us, He cannot forgive us ours (see Matt. 6:15).

  The Bible teaches us that we can ask God for anything and if we believe we have received it, we will get it. Please notice that we don’t always get it immediately, but if we will believe in our heart that God has heard our prayer and that we have received what we have asked for, then when the right time comes, we will get it (see Mark 11:23–24). This is a great promise, but we must read it in the context of the next verse, which says:

  “Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him [drop the issue, let it go], so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions and wrongdoings [against Him and others].”

  Mark 11:25

  I remember reading a statement from Watchman Nee, saying that most of the ground Satan gains in the lives of believers is due to the fact that they are not willing to forgive those who have hurt them or treated them unfairly.

  Prayer is far too important for us to allow these obstacles or anything else to hinder its effectiveness. Oh God, let us be assured of the power of prayer and help us pray often.

  CHAPTER 7

  Ways the Devil Tries to Deceive People

  And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world.

  Revelation 12:9 ESV

  Satan devours people through deception. When we are deceived, we believe lies we have been told, but since we do not know they are lies, we accept them as truth and act according to them. It is imperative that children of God know the difference between the lies of Satan and the truth of God’s Word; otherwise they can be kept in bondage all of their lives. They will also miss out on the privileges and wonderful lives God has planned for them.

  Here are a few examples of how deception operates:

  • You may believe you are incapable of doing something that God has actually enabled you to do.

  • You may believe you can never completely get over a painful past.

  • You may believe you have no value, or that God doesn’t love you because no matter how hard you try, you always seem to mess up and make mistakes.

  None of these things are true, but if you believe them, then Satan has deceived you and his lies have become your reality.

  One of our first defenses against deception is prayer. Jesus said we should pray and be careful not to be deceived (see Matt. 24:4). He also said that in the last days deception would increase (see Matt. 24:24). Right now, the general consensus is that we are living in the last days. Society today continually sends us the message that there is no absolute truth; truth is ever changing and based on our perceptions. In other words, the truth can be one thing to one person and something else to another. Of course, that is nonsense because if truth exists at all, it is a constant standard that is the same all the time for all people.

  Relativism, Humanism, and Absolute Truth

  Relativism declares there are no absolutes because all things are relative to other things. The relativist states that truth is relative to a person’s situation or to what he feels. People who don’t believe in God or in traditional Christianity often do not believe God’s Word is absolute truth. When people hold this view, it is very easy for the devil to deceive them because they have nothing concrete by which to judge anything. If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything, and that is a dangerous position to be in.

  I recently read this in an article I came across online:

  While absolute truth is a logical necessity, there are some religious orientations (atheistic humanists, for example) who argue against the existence of absolute truth. Humanism’s exclusion of God necessitates moral relativism. Humanist John Dewey (1859–1952), co-author and signer of the Humanist Manifesto 1 (1933), declared, “There is no God and there is no soul. Hence, there are no needs for the props of traditional religion. With dogma and creed excluded, then immutable truth is also dead and buried. There is no room for fixed, natural law or moral absolutes.” Humanists believe one should do, as one feels is right.

  from “Absolute Truth,” All About…, allaboutphilosophy.org

  It seems to me that what humanists believe is no more than a good excuse to do anything they want to do with no accountability for their
actions. This is the atmosphere in which anarchy can exist and eventually destroy a civilization. The anarchist refuses to recognize authority of any kind and rebellion reigns.

  I don’t deny relativism as a principle that must be applied in some situations, but I do say that it cannot be applied to God’s Word. For example, if someone invites me to a party, whether I go or not may be relative to what kind of party it is, my schedule, or any number of other factors. But, if someone asks me if I believe God is good, then the answer is yes. That is not and never will be relative to anything else. The truth is simply that God is good. I frequently hear people say, “If God is good, then why do bad things happen to good people?” There are many answers to that question that I cannot explain in this book, but I can say that no matter what the reasons are, our problems never change the truth that God is good!

  Absolute truth can be defined as an inflexible reality, fixed, invariable, and unalterable. We can see that the definition of truth is the polar opposite of relativism.

  Personally, I believe God’s Word is absolute truth. My understanding of His Word may grow and change as I study and am taught, but His Word is always the same. It is the standard on which I base all of my decisions and by which I measure my thoughts. It is the only way I know to recognize the lies of the devil and to prevent myself from being deceived.

  Another way the devil deceives people is by presenting Jesus as a historical figure instead of as the Savior of mankind. They don’t say He didn’t exist, or that He wasn’t powerful, but they deny that He is the Son of God. Most false religions are a mixture of some truth with some error, and that is what makes them dangerous.