Find Your Power In Prayer

The movie WarRoom changed my life.

I seriously love that movie!  When I tell people that, I get one of 3 reactions:  I love it too!  I haven't seen it!   Or....I saw it, but I thought it was a bit cheesy in parts.  But whatever your reaction, put that aside for a second because this is NOT a movie review.  This IS my testimony of how a movie had a profound effect on my life.

I went to see it with my husband and a group of friends from our Church.  I thought it would just be a fun afternoon outing, but I walked away with a changed heart and a deeper understanding of the power of prayer.  I was confronted with the realization that my prayer life was lackluster. I was convicted that I was praying "on the surface" and without confidence in what I was actually praying for.  I was also encouraged that by taking a few simple steps, I could experience the powerful prayer life that God intended for each of us to have.  I walked out of the theatre excited to create a WarRoom of my own. 

And that's just what I did.  A few days later I had moved all the distractions out of the corner of our guest room and began practicing what I learned from the movie.  Now, before I begin to pray, I search for scriptures related to my prayer request and then write out my prayers quoting the Word of God.  This is something I had never been taught to do before, but presenting my requests to the Lord using His Word gives me such confidence.  It reminds me of God's promises and how if what I am praying for lines up with what His Word says, then I don't need to worry, I just need to present my request and trust Him.  When I can't find promises in the scriptures to support what I'm praying for, it becomes crystal clear to me that instead of praying to bring myself into alignment with God's will, I might be trying to bend Him to mine.

I had never thought of prayer as a weapon before.  I thought of it as the way that I communicated with God, but the movie helped me realized that my prayers are a weapon that can be used to fight the enemy and protect me and those I love from his schemes to steal our joy!  

Now I don't know about you, but throughout each day as I talk to friends and family and interact with people, I hear the challenges they are facing.  Most of the time my response includes letting them know that I will keep them in my prayers.  I make notes in my phone or write reminders on post-its, but I wanted to create something that could easily be carried with me, where I could write down their prayer requests and reference them later during my prayer time.  I was also inspired by my mother-in-law who facilitates the monthly women's prayer meetings at our Church. One of her motto's is Pray Until Something Happens.  So that's where the idea for our P.U.S.H. case came from.  

My hope is you'll use it daily as I do, to keep track of prayer requests and actively go before our Father for yourself and on behalf of others.  

P.S. If you're looking for encouragement on how to fight the enemy with a weapon that truly works, I recommend you pick up a copy of Fervent by Priscilla Shirer.  My girlfriends and I have been reading it together and I can't even begin to express how amazing this book is.  "Fervent is a hands-on, knees-down, never-give-up action guide to practical, purposeful praying."  

*I have not been compensated in any way for endorsing WarRoom or Fervent.  I'm just a huge fan and highly recommend both!*

Jamila is the founder of loved+blessed. On her personal mission to leave a legacy of encouragement, she blogs about her own life lessons with the hope that it will bring joy into others’ lives and help them find the courage to keep walking in faith knowing that all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord. Read her testimony of how God turned her misery into ministry.