What America Needs Her Churches to Believe About Prayer! By Pastor Jerry McCullah
10. “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15. And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16. Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18. Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:10-18)
Prayer is the deciding factor in a spiritual conflict. So, it must be forever understood that prayer has much to do with a conflict in the spiritual realm. All conflict in heaven has been forever resolved, therefore, this conflict inferred here is fought on the earth. The purpose behind this conflict is to decide who has control in the earth, at any given time, over situations and humans. And, this goes all the way back to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The victory of each conflict comes the moment a true believer enters into that conflict in deliberate prayer!
“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16b)
Man was a unique creation. Man was created having a body and a mind, but many do not realize that man is also a spirit-being. And, our enemy, but most importantly the enemy of God, Satan, is also a spirit-being. However, Satan does not have a body as man has, but in the evil plans of his purpose, he may actually inhabit the body of a man.
Take note:
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)
Man’s real conflicts are spiritual in nature with other spirit-beings, and there is a power released from God through the “prayer of a righteous man” (James 5:16).
We might say, the persistent, faithful prayer of a moral man releases the power of God into any spiritual conflict! This righteous man is a repentant man. We may refer to this as “moral power”.
This moral power that a believer may use is the exact opposite of the power Satan uses; namely, immoral thoughts and actions, violence, or physical force. What we see in America today is that physical force fueled by uncontrolled anger is Satan’s weapon of choice. But, even in this a moral man in prayer will prevail. However, it must be said, that man’s morality will always be tested by evil.
Much of the time the devil knows how to push even the buttons of a believer to sway the conflict his way. He uses man’s anger to elicit the reaction he needs to win the conflict. And so we have violence, racism, rioting — Ferguson—Baltimore, and many more hot spots in our nation.
Reaction. Reaction will test and even destroy a man’s morals, leading to the weakening of the moral power described in James 5:16. However, child of God, patience overrules reaction. Patience may be a Christian man at his strongest; while he resists the urge to act in return.
Often, reaction and anger are twin weapons that Satan uses to win the conflict he has designed against a person; a family; a church; a community; a nation.
The Scripture says, “Do not let the sun go down on your anger.” Why? Because the world needs you to work through it and pray through it. Turn your reactive anger into better directed prayer energy (moral power) against our true spiritual enemy, the devil himself.
“The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16b)
Come on, Church, our most effective fighting is on our knees!
About Pastor Jerry McCullah
Pastor of Green Valley Bible Chapel 2005- Present
Prayer Consultant for California Southern Baptist Convention 2001- Present
Founder and President of Impact Prayer International 1999 – Present
Teaching and encouraging intimate relationships with Jesus Christ in churches through seminars, prayer revivals, concerts of prayer, prayer retreats, and more.
Headquartered at 15724 Calle Hermosa Green Valley, Ca. 91390 Ph. 661-270-9671
