Tony Evans - Prayers for Victory in Spiritual Warfare

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org).

Verses marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Verses marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Verses marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Verses marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Verses marked HCSB are taken from the HCSB , copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. HCSB is a federally registered trademark of Holman Bible Publishers.

Cover by Knail, Salem, Oregon

Cover illustration iStockphoto / MandarineTree

PRAYERS FOR VICTORY IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE

Copyright 2015 Tony Evans

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Evans, Tony

Prayers for victory in spiritual warfare / Tony Evans.

pages cm

ISBN 978-0-7369-6058-8 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-6059-5 (eBook)

1. Prayers. 2. PrayerChristianity. 3. Spiritual warfare. 4. Spiritual lifeChristianity. I. Title.

BV260.E93 2015

242'.8dc23

2015015147

All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of authors and publishers rights is strictly prohibited.

Dedicated to the prayer ministry of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, the unsung heroes of our church. Thank you for your commitment in doing battle in the spiritual realm on behalf of so many in our body.

CONTENTS

M y dad, Dr. Tony Evans, is a man of prayer, plain and simple. My childhood memories of his praying are deeply ingrainedhearing his voice resonate with fervor and passion as he lifted up his requests and thanksgiving to God. Not just once a week on Sunday as he led the congregation. No, my father prayed as a lifestyle. Hed gather my siblings and me and our mom, ask us to bow our heads and close our eyes, and then, then , hed talk to God. I admit sometimes Id peek, opening my eyes just enough to peer up into his face. Thats when I knew . I knew for sure this discipline was not one he took lightly. His expression was tender and yet serious, compassionate and yet somehow still intent and purposeful. He didnt just pick the usual words and phrases that most easily came to mind. He wasnt hurried or rushed, hoping to quickly return to more important endeavors. This was the important task. And as a result of his belief in the power of prayer, I saw Gods answers and responses. His Spirit-filled prayer life encouraged our faith as a family and has helped to shape my own personal prayer life as an adult . Im grateful to call this godly man my pastor and my father. Grateful, too, that hes sharing some of his wisdom with you in this important book.

In Prayers for Victory in Spiritual Warfare , Dr. Tony Evans gives you a jump start in praying for the various needs in your life. In each of the 30 topics covered, he provides you with prayers based on the six pieces of armor outlined in Ephesians 6:10-17. You can pray these prayers verbatim, paraphrase them, or simply let them provoke your thoughts as you craft your own prayers related to these 30 topicsor any other topics you wish to add. The key, however, is to pray. Like my daddy did and still does. Dont just think about prayer, talk about prayer, or learn about prayer. Actually pray . Our great God is looking forward to hearing from you and me as we seek His face for victory in the battles we are fighting in our lives.

I will be joining you in claiming the spiritual victory that is ours because we are already more than conquerors in Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. And as you pray, remember that no matter the struggle you are facing, greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

Sincerely,

Priscilla Shirer

I f youre a Christian, youre in a battle whether you realize it or not. The battle is for your mind, your spirit, and ultimately your life. The apostle Paul warned us about this ongoing conflict in several of his epistles but perhaps most importantly in his letter to the believers in Ephesus, where he also spells out our strategy for winning the battle. That strategy has to do with the armor we wear as we enter into warfare with the enemy of our souls.

Take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with [put on the belt of] truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints (Ephesians 6:13-18).

In my previous book Victory in Spiritual Warfare , I wrote extensively on how were to engage the enemy with our armor in place. Now, in Prayers for Victory in Spiritual Warfare , Im offering some powerful prayers that address some of the major battles we face. For each of the topics listed, youll find prayers based on each piece of our armor. Because there are six pieces of armor, Ive chosen to draft prayers based on the theme of each piece. Feel free to pray the prayers word for word, to use them as a starting point for crafting your own prayers, or to simply paraphrase them. The main thing is that you pray.

My goal is that these prayers will act as a starting place for you each day and that when the prayer Ive written ends, you will go on praying in your own words about your situation. Remember as you pray that you do not pray as a beggar, but as a warrior for the King of kings. If you need help discovering what I mean by that and how critical it is that you approach prayer in a sense that you are claiming your legal rights, listen to my online sermon on the subject at go.tonyevans.org/prayer. You have power in prayer over your enemy. You probably have more power than you realize. Your task is to stand firm in your God-given authority, and you do that through prayer. Before you begin, lets take a brief look at each piece of armor.

Armor You Wear All the Time

The first three pieces of the armor of God are to be worn all the time. The to be verbtranslated havingindicates at all times. You need to be well dressed for warfare every day because the enemy attacks without warning. We are to always put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the shoes of the gospel of peace.