Hands Ready for War...(War Room Reflection)

Last week I read the book and saw the movie "War Room".  This story impacted my mind and my heart in a positive way.  I pray...I consider myself a person who "prays without ceasing"  (I Thessalonians 5:17).  I pray when someone asks me to pray for them...I really do.  I pray for the people on our prayer list at church.  I pray for things that come up from day to day.  I don't just ask God for things, either, now...I praise Him. I love to praise Him.

But to think of prayer as the way we do battle?  I have not truly been a prayer warrior...maybe a prayer worrier...one who worriedly prays about things.    But that is not being a prayer warrior.  

The point that I thought was made so clearly in the story "War Room" was that we can ALL as Christians be prayer warriors ...because it does not matter how long we have been a Christian.

It does not matter how young we are.

It does not matter how old we are.

It does not matter if we are in good health or poor health. 

It does not matter if we are fluent in speech or stutter.

It does not matter if we are puny or pumped with muscles.

Anyone....anyone...can be a WARRIOR in prayer...because the key thing to remember is the battle is not ours!  It is the Lord's and our call to pray is how we wage war against the enemy...and not against each other...but against the devil...the real enemy. 

With one of my sons today at the doctor, we have been praying for him.  Praying and praying.  And the difference I have seen is that I realized I do not have to be afraid that God will not answer my prayers.  That is a tactic of the enemy.  I realized that my prayers are to line up with God's will and glory...and when I ask Him things...He gives me strength to accept His answers.  He gives me wisdom to accept His answers.  He gives me power to praise Him in His answers.  And those answers are not always what I think they should be.  But when I am close to the Heavenly Father on my knees and in the Word, then He gives me what I need...even if I do not know what that is myself.  I can trust Him to give me good things because He is good.  

I was reading in Psalms tonight, praising the Lord for a prayer that was answered about my son when these verses struck me:

 Blessed be the LORD my Rock,     
        Who trains my hands for war,
             And my fingers for battle ---
                   My lovingkindness and my fortress,
                         My high tower and my deliverer.
                                  My shield and the One in whom I take refuge.       - Psalm 144:1-2

As I read these verses I thought about my hands that the Lord is training for war...He is training them to be praying hands.  The war is fought through prayer...and my hands folded in prayer and submission is how the Lord will train me to fight.
The Scripture goes on to say He trains my fingers for battle.....My fingers are what I use to turn the pages of my Bible and read His Word, the Sword of the Spirit.  His Promises.  His Truth.
My fingers are what I use to point to verses as I read, poring over each word of His that has been written down for me.  My hands pray and my fingers turn the pages of the Bible.  These are the weapons God has given me for war!!  Amazing!!
And the fact that it is He that is fighting for me is shown in the rest of these verses.  Because I know that I am weak...I know that I am nothing...I know that I am a sinner...BUT (don't you just love the word "but" sometimes :) )....BUT  HE is my fortress and is my strength.  HE is my high tower.  HE is my shield.  HE has defeated the enemy already and will continue to fight these battles for me as I do my part which is to praise the Rock,  "Blessed be the Lord!!!'
And to pray...."Who trains my hands for war"
And to study His Word..."Who trains my fingers for battle"
And to trust in Him..."Who is my high tower, my fortress, my shield"
And to run to Him immediately...not try to fight on my own..."He is the One in whom I take refuge".
Praising the Lord for being good all the time, for being true to His Word, for teaching me how to fight with my hands in prayer and my fingers in the Bible and my knees on the ground as I submit to Him as my Shield!
Praise God!  Praise God!

Today I heard the whisper of God in prayer, in hands, in fingers.  Where did you hear His whisper today?