Heidi St. John - Prayers for the Battlefield: Staying Momstrong in the Fight for Your Family and Faith

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Prayers for the Battlefield: Staying MomStrong in the Fight for Your Family and Faith

Copyright 2018 by Heidi St. John. All rights reserved.

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ISBN 978-1-4964-1277-5

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To the memory of my grandmother Eunice,

whose fierce love for Gods Word and dedication to passing that love on to her grandchildren is still bearing fruit today.

And to every mother who prays that someday the same will be said of her.

Take courage! The battle is the Lords.

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of Gods armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of Gods armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.

E PHESIANS 6:10-13

I was well into motherhood when I began to realize that Ephesians 6 is more than a poetic prelude to a far-off struggle: its a window into the unseen battle for the very soul of humankind. The spiritual battle thats being fought today has been stripped down to one core skirmish: the fight for truth. Can you feel it? When it comes to the hearts of this generation, truth is in the crosshairs.

As a young girl, I remember my grandmother taking every possible opportunity to speak Gods Word to my heart. I wasnt always listening, but she spoke it anyway. Sometimes she would speak soft truths to me as I drifted off to sleep. And when she prayed, her prayers were filled with affirmations from Scripture. I remember how she prayed for wisdom, admitting that she had no wisdom apart from God. When she corrected me, her words were strong and commandingas if she were preparing me for the battle of my life.

Because she was.

Ive been raising our seven children for nearly twenty-eight years, and now Im a grandmother too. When I look into the eyes of my grandsons, I think of the countless times when my grandmother focused her declining energy on my siblings and me. She knew what every mother and grandmother needs to know right now: our children are worth fighting for. Theyre worth the tears you cry over them, worth the sleepless nights, worth the prayers you send heavenward on their behalf, and worth the investment you make into teaching them the ways of the One who made them.

After all, its His ways that lead to victory.

Your children have been entrusted to your care at a pivotal point in history. We are at a cultural crossroads, and the battle for the hearts and minds of our children is raging all around useven in our churches. The stakes are high; in fact, theyre eternal. Make no mistake: the enemy of your soul is playing for keeps.

I wrote most of the pages of this book with tears in my eyes because Im acutely aware of my own need to stay on the battlefield for the sake of my children and grandchildren. I know that victory wont be handed to us easily, but with the Lords help, the battle can be won.

Beloved, there will be times when you speak truth to your children and they wont listen. They may drift off to sleep while you pray over them, or they may roll their eyes at your attempts to train them in the ways of the Lord. But dont give up! My grandmother knew that no matter whether I seemed interested or not, God was at work.

God is still at work. He loves you. You belong to Him. Like Esther, you were born for such a time as thisand so were your children.

As you read Prayers for the Battlefield, you will see that it is divided into six sections. Each section is filled with devotions and prayers designed to meet you wherever the battle takes you. The index at the end of the book is intended to help you look up a prayer based on the struggle youre facing. Whether you find yourself in need of courage, hope, rest, or perseverance, my prayer is that youll find life within these pages.

As you read this book, Im praying that you will shout a battle cry on behalf of your children. They carry with them the promise of a new generation of warriorswarriors trained to recognize the voice of truth.

Onto the battlefield! The battle belongs to the Lord!