Derek Prince - Secrets of a Prayer Warrior

2009 by Derek Prince Ministries International

Published by Chosen Books
A division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.chosenbooks.com

Printed in the United States of America

This book was compiled from the extensive archive of Derek Princes unpublished materials and edited by the Derek Prince Ministries editorial team.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Prince, Derek.

Secrets of a prayer warrior / Derek Prince.

p. cm.

Includes indexes.

ISBN 978-0-8007-9465-1 (pbk.)

1. PrayerChristianity. 2. PrayerBiblical teaching. I. Title.

BV210.3.P74 2009

248.32dc22 2008051181

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked nasb is taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Scripture marked niv is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked nlt is taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked kjv is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

CONTENTS

D erek Prince was a prayer warrior. Certainly, he possessed other gifts and attributes. Best of all, Derek was a prolific Bible teacher, with more than 600 recorded messages, almost 60 books in print, and more than 100 video recordings of his teachings. He was a Bible teacher of tremendous depth.

Derek was also the loving husband (over a 53-year span) to two wives, both of whom preceded him to glory. His first marriage took place for him through remarkable direction from the Lord. He married his first wife, Lydia, in 1945, and immediately became father to her eight adopted daughters. (Their ninth adopted daughter, Jesika, was added to the family while Derek and Lydia were in ministry in Kenya.) The irony of this immediate family was that Derek had been raised as an only child in a somewhat privileged British culture, and he was a thirty-year-old bachelor at the time. His marriage to Ruth took place in 1978, three years after Lydia passed awayand came about through equally remarkable guidance from the Lord.

Derek was also a philosopher and brilliant scholar, with academic accolades that could fill a page. Another unique experience for him was his service in a medical unit in the deserts of North Africa in World War IIright after the time in which the Lord apprehended him. Derek spoke many languages fluently. He read his New Testament in the original Greek, and was a Hebrew scholar as well. His knowledge and brilliance spanned a wide spectrum. In many ways, he was a true Renaissance manalthough he probably would not have considered that a compliment.

A long list could be compiled of the unique events and achievements of Dereks life and ministry, as well as an equally long list of descriptors for himsuch as teacher, author, husband, father, spiritual leader and pioneer in many godly activities. Again, Derek would not be pleased for that list to be attributed to him, because he did not consider his life to be about him. It was about Him. Derek would not have been comfortable with such a listing. Nevertheless, of all the descriptors, one would have to be near the top of any list:

Derek Prince was a prayer warrior.

A pastor told of a lunch he and his wife enjoyed with Derek and Lydia back in the early 1970s. In a very natural way throughout their lunch and conversation, Lydia would occasionally touch Dereks arm and say, I think we need to pray for Jim and Janice. And they would stop and pray for a few moments. And then a little while later, I think we need to pray for Frank and Betty. Each time, Derek would stop, join hands with Lydia, pray a simple, direct prayer and then return to the conversation and fellowship. According to that pastor, it was one of the most unusual lunch appointments he and his wife ever experiencedbut not in an unpleasant way. Prayer was natural and frequent for Derek and Lydia, and later for Derek and Ruth. and later for Derek and Ruth.

Derek Prince was a prayer warrior.

Defining Terms

The statement begs the question: What exactly is a prayer warrior? The best way to answer that question in a definitive way is to read this book.

The complicating factor as we begin the process of answering this question comes from the current state of prayer in the Church. Prayer warrior is a familiar phrase within Christian circles, thrown about in a cavalier way. It is used to describe someone gutsy enough to storm the gates of heaven with petitions and spiritual declarations. As you will see when you read this book, Derek did not hold a cavalier view of what it is to be a prayer warrior. (A good example of such a cavalier approach might be the statement of a song leader at a meeting some years ago, who said, in a moment of exuberance, I feel so excited tonight! I feel as though I could charge hell with a bucket of water.) Derek, who in addition to other traits had a wonderful sense of humor, would have laughed with the rest of us at that exclamation. But when it came to the topic of prayer, he was anything but cavalier.

An Astounding Statement

We are belaboring this cavalier approach to being a prayer warrior because of something Derek says right at the start of this book. In fact, it may be disturbing to you.

In the opening paragraph of chapter 1, Dereks first shot out of the barrel is a statement that sounds alarmingly flippant and egotisticaleven smug. In fact, at first reading it (or hearing it... Derek stated it routinely when he taught on prayer), one might react against it. Here is his astonishing statement: For my part, I love to prayand what is more, I get what I pray for.

At first glance, that statement sounds patently cavalier. I get what I pray for. Derek plunges in even deeper with his next promise: That is just what I am going to teach you how to pray and get what you pray for. All of it may sound dangerously close to the mindset in some Christian circles where we find the pump in the coins and out pops the candy bar prayer mentality. The unpleasant picture that comes to mind is the spoiled child begging, cajoling and even throwing a tantrum until God gives in and grants the request. As some have insultingly said, The Great Bellhop in the sky.

Unfortunately, those kinds of attitudes and approaches are far too common among Christians today. That is why this book will be so very helpful. In the chapters you are about to read, Derek does not teach us how to have our greedy, selfish prayers answered. He teaches us how to align ourselves with the Lord in attitude and practice in such a way that we pray effectivelyand thereby get, not simply what we want, but what God ultimately wants.

Aligning Ourselves with the Lord

This concept is well expressed in Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Some in the Christian faith might consider that an open invitation to selfish prayers. Indeed, many have misinterpreted that to mean that God will give us whatever we wantany little desire that comes into our hearts or minds. But friend of Derek Prince Ministries made an observation that would line up entirely with what Derek teaches in this book. His conclusion was as follows: By delighting ourselves in the Lord, we align ourselves so closely with His heart and desires that what we end up praying for is precisely what His intention is for us. No more, no less. That is a long way from the spoiled child picture described earlier.