INTRODUCTION
In the foreword I wrote for Terri Brown’s great book, Troubleshooting Your Prayer Life, I state the following:
“Having been the beneficiary of literally hundreds of prayers offered up by Terri Brown, I can attest to her qualifications for teaching on the subject of prayer. Terri is a mature, seasoned intercessor. Unlike many, she doesn't teach theory; Terri teaches what she lives, having learned to pray the way most true intercessors have - on the job. And I consider her to be one of the best.”
In his endorsement, my brother Tim Sheets says:
“Terri has gifted us with an incredible resource. There is probably no one reading this who has not at some point cried out, ‘How long, oh God!’ We have prayed, interceded, decreed angelic assistance, fasted…and yet answers seem elusive. Troubleshooting Your Prayer Life is the handbook you will want at your fingertips. It is practical, relevant, spiritual, and yes, it is REAL. Embrace it, and then recommend it to everyone you know.”
Terri was once asked by a friend, “When did you start writing this book?” She quickly answered, without even thinking about it, “The day I prayed my first prayer.” Writing her book has required a lifetime of processing victories, defeats, “why’s” and “why not’s.” We are the beneficiaries.
Today, Terri shares some of her recent thoughts regarding how to prepare for the coming season. Enjoy.
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TROUBLESHOOTING YOUR PRAYER LIFE
Recently I heard the Lord say, “In this season, the intercessory army needs to be shored up.” This is not a phrase I use very often so I looked up the meaning. “Shored up” means, to support, to reinforce or strengthen something at risk of failure.”(1) So, I have been meditating on this for a couple of weeks.
Why would the prayer army need shoring up?
First let’s acknowledge that we have been in an intense battle for our nation. In addition, many of us have been in personal battles over our family, finances or our health. This can be wearying. I live in the only county in the nation with five military bases. When soldiers and airmen return from deployments, they are welcomed back, then go through a period of reintegration. They take time to be restored, physically and emotionally. Their equipment is cleaned and restored. I am sure there are evaluations of strategies employed while on deployment.
The prayer army, on the other hand, stays very faithful to their post and continues to war with little time given to reflection, restoration or course correction. However, we should remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint. Even when prophets say, “It will be an intense battle for the next two months,” that doesn’t always mean the war is over in two months. It may just mean a battle needs to be won in the next two months, so we are ready for what comes next. We are living on a battlefield. It is vital that we diligently keep our weapons clean, our hearts pure, and our overall health strong, ready to be deployed.
Years ago, I heard author and prayer leader Cindy Jacobs say, “We know we need to put on the full armor of God, but if we put the armor on over hearts that have holes in them, we can be defeated from the inside.” Those holes can come from friendly fire (when we are wounded by people on our side), or from battle wounds; either way we can’t leave them to fester. We need to take the time to receive healing from the Lord. Many times, this can be done through the Holy Spirit guiding us into truth. Sometimes, however, we may need the help of a friend or counselor. Either way, it is part of the process of shoring up the intercessory army.
When in an intense battle the temptation is to pray the way we have always prayed. It is easy to get in a rut and forget to inquire of the Lord. David demonstrated the importance of asking the Lord for our battle assignments and strategies (2 Samuel 5). Is this my battle? Is this the right time to take on this battle? What weapons should I use in the battle? In spiritual battles, the strategy can vary from worship, high praise, intercession, high level spiritual warfare, decrees and declaration and yes, even rest. We must make sure we don’t pray from habitual mindsets, but from a place of revelation.
I don’t know what the next twelve months hold. Some prophets have said intense times are ahead. We must prepare and remain ready: deal with our wounds and disappointments; examine our rhetoric and our practices; search our hearts for hope deferred mentalities; and drop the plumbline of God’s Word into our prayer habits.
Let’s agree with David’s prayer in the Psalms: “Create in me a clean heart, oh God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).
“Steadfast” means to be firm in purpose, unwavering, firmly established.(2) An online thesaurus says a synonym for steadfast is abiding.(3) It’s not only a synonym; it’s a prerequisite! We won’t accomplish anything without coming from a place of abiding with the Lord, spending time with Him. May all of our prayers and strategies come from a place of abiding with the Lord, that we might be “...steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing [our] labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58 NKJV).
Pray with me:
Father, Terri is right: as frontline intercessors we often do not take the needed time to refresh and restore. We are reminded today that there are many warriors interceding for America and the nations - it’s ok to rest! As she said, this is a marathon, not a sprint.
We have all experienced disappointments in our prayer efforts, having failed to receive that for which we asked. We’ve all experienced unwanted delays. Help us to grow and learn from this, not become cynical and succumb to hope-deferred heart disease. We are all students of Your Word, growing in our understanding. You told us to learn of You, to learn Your ways (Matthew 11:29), and that this would contribute to finding rest. Teach us, Holy Spirit.
And thank You for reminding us today to always inquire of You when in spiritual battles. When David did so, he found breakthrough (2 Samuel 5). Give us Your strategies as we pray for our families, our friends, and yes, our nations. When we ask according to YOUR will, which includes Your methods, You hear and give us the provision we need (1 John 5:14-15).
And remind us to abide in You. As we abide in You - spending time in Your Word and presence - we ask what we will and receive it (John 15:7). And as Terri reminds us, this will enable us to be steadfast, immovable, abounding in Your work, and producing fruit.
We ask these things in the name and authority of Christ. Amen.
Our decree:
We decree that we are yoked to the Lord, learning from Him, and are at rest (Matthew 11:28-30).
Click on the link below to watch the full video.
You can find out more about Terri at TerriBrown.live.
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Thank you for this encouragment to persevere, and for reminding us of the promises in the Bible regarding prayer.