How a Religious Spirit can effect Prayer ....
Wow...what does a 'religious spirit' have to do with prayer? Or praying for leaders? Well..you just might be surprised!
Leaders, and those praying for leaders, need to be especially aware of minimizing what we are doing. I can't tell you the number of times I used to describe myself as ' I was just an intercessor' or 'I'm just'...Altho it sounded humble and holy, it wasn't. I was being effected by a religious spirit, and it was blinding me to my authority in God when I prayed.
More times than I can tell you, I would be warring with the sense that what I was doing WAS important, but at the same time feeling like to admit that was sinful - being full of pride . Those thoughts would lead me to the next thoughts that I was ' nothing special' and ' I don't make any difference when I pray.' Now sometimes that can sound very humble, right?? WRONG!! Show me any where in the Bible where it says that when we pray we are ineffective? Show me where it says that we are 'nothing' in God's sight? hmmm...Wonder who is enjoying the fact that we have actually been allowing ourselves to be robbed of power and authority when we pray, but using our desire to be humble and stay humble before the Lord, against us!? Jesus was THE most humble man on earth, and yet He knew His worth and value, and so walked in the power and authority that God had given Him. We need to do the same!
A religious spirit will try to convince you that your prayers would make no difference, to the situation you are praying into. Remember, a religious spirit is so good at mimicking God, that it will often fly under the radar. It will bind us into a religious way of thinking, that has nothing to do with how God truly wants to operate in our lives! God doesn't need to diminish you...or your worth, value or ability, in order to keep you humble! We only need to be aware that our talents and gifts come FROM Him and are to used FOR Him. BUT...we need to be aware when the voice we are listening to is actually leading us to NOT function in our gifts at all!
Another way the religious spirit can effect us, is using tradition, or customs to cause us to miss hearing what God is saying 'now'! While Tradition can helpu us understand our heritage and give us a sense of community, culture or belonging, we need to be aware when it becomes someting that is forming the basis of our lives and conduct, rather than grounding us and our lives in the Spirit and Word of God.
We need to be careful and alert to the different ways this spirit can be effecting us, both as leaders and prayer people! How many times have I heard people say, " But this is the way I've always done it." I cannot tell you the number of times I've encountered this spirit IN a prayer meeting. '' I don't pray out loud....I do it this way."....or ' The prayer room has always been run this way....I don't see a need for change." When you're praying for pastors and leaders, we need to make sure that in offering to pray for them, that we don't demand to do it our own way. We need to guard ourselves against resisting change and be aware when we find it difficult to embrace new things. The problem here is, that tho God is the same yesterday, today and forever, He is not stationary. He is always working to move US forward to higher and better things!
There may be times, when as a Prayer Shield ( which is a group..which mean CORPORATE), you are required to work with others in a different way - you may need to learn to 'work prayer' with a group or in a group..and not just in your individual prayer closet. We must remain flexible, teachable - always listening to the Holy Spirit's leading. The strategy for a certain battle is often not the same as the strategy for the last one! ( Ex.14:13, Ex. 17:10-13 ,Josh. 6 ) . How we proceeded and prayed yesterday, may have no spiritual relevance on how we must advance/pray today!
We must guard against becoming entrenched in tradition so much so that we lose our ability to be flexible because 'then the religious spirit has succeeded in restraining us from reaching the full potential of God's destiny for our lives.' ( Tommi Femrite)..
Each must be constantly aware of old mindsets that are hindering us, and step into a daily revelation of God love and plans for us!
" The spirit of religion is an agent of Satan assigned to prevent changes and to maintain the status quo by using religious devices." C.Peter Wagner
" A religious spirit is a demonic force that influences people to act pious, self-righteous or super-spiritual. The religious spirit has a clear-cut agenda: to disorient one's perception of who Jesus is and to stand in the way of God's effort to build His glorious Church." Jonas Clark
There are two typical tactics that a religious spirit can work on a leader..and his/her prayer people. Keep your spiritual eyes open for signs of these:
1. A sense that God can not rescue them form the current testing or situation they are in - even if, they've just seen amazing miracles - so they run, hide, quit or go into isolation or depression.
2. A sense that God has abandoned them -even tho God was just with them, showing His amazing power and love thru a series of answered prayers, or meetings or events!
A religious spirit will work to convince the people of God that He is not who He said He was, and does not have the power to move, OR that He will not fulfill His promises and decrees. ("Nothing's going to happen - God doesn't care." ...or "Nothings ever going to change.".etc.)
" The religious spirit works to kill revival by causing us to relate to and hear God differently than we should." Tommi Femrite
More to come.......
Leaders, and those praying for leaders, need to be especially aware of minimizing what we are doing. I can't tell you the number of times I used to describe myself as ' I was just an intercessor' or 'I'm just'...Altho it sounded humble and holy, it wasn't. I was being effected by a religious spirit, and it was blinding me to my authority in God when I prayed.
More times than I can tell you, I would be warring with the sense that what I was doing WAS important, but at the same time feeling like to admit that was sinful - being full of pride . Those thoughts would lead me to the next thoughts that I was ' nothing special' and ' I don't make any difference when I pray.' Now sometimes that can sound very humble, right?? WRONG!! Show me any where in the Bible where it says that when we pray we are ineffective? Show me where it says that we are 'nothing' in God's sight? hmmm...Wonder who is enjoying the fact that we have actually been allowing ourselves to be robbed of power and authority when we pray, but using our desire to be humble and stay humble before the Lord, against us!? Jesus was THE most humble man on earth, and yet He knew His worth and value, and so walked in the power and authority that God had given Him. We need to do the same!
A religious spirit will try to convince you that your prayers would make no difference, to the situation you are praying into. Remember, a religious spirit is so good at mimicking God, that it will often fly under the radar. It will bind us into a religious way of thinking, that has nothing to do with how God truly wants to operate in our lives! God doesn't need to diminish you...or your worth, value or ability, in order to keep you humble! We only need to be aware that our talents and gifts come FROM Him and are to used FOR Him. BUT...we need to be aware when the voice we are listening to is actually leading us to NOT function in our gifts at all!
Another way the religious spirit can effect us, is using tradition, or customs to cause us to miss hearing what God is saying 'now'! While Tradition can helpu us understand our heritage and give us a sense of community, culture or belonging, we need to be aware when it becomes someting that is forming the basis of our lives and conduct, rather than grounding us and our lives in the Spirit and Word of God.
We need to be careful and alert to the different ways this spirit can be effecting us, both as leaders and prayer people! How many times have I heard people say, " But this is the way I've always done it." I cannot tell you the number of times I've encountered this spirit IN a prayer meeting. '' I don't pray out loud....I do it this way."....or ' The prayer room has always been run this way....I don't see a need for change." When you're praying for pastors and leaders, we need to make sure that in offering to pray for them, that we don't demand to do it our own way. We need to guard ourselves against resisting change and be aware when we find it difficult to embrace new things. The problem here is, that tho God is the same yesterday, today and forever, He is not stationary. He is always working to move US forward to higher and better things!
There may be times, when as a Prayer Shield ( which is a group..which mean CORPORATE), you are required to work with others in a different way - you may need to learn to 'work prayer' with a group or in a group..and not just in your individual prayer closet. We must remain flexible, teachable - always listening to the Holy Spirit's leading. The strategy for a certain battle is often not the same as the strategy for the last one! ( Ex.14:13, Ex. 17:10-13 ,Josh. 6 ) . How we proceeded and prayed yesterday, may have no spiritual relevance on how we must advance/pray today!
We must guard against becoming entrenched in tradition so much so that we lose our ability to be flexible because 'then the religious spirit has succeeded in restraining us from reaching the full potential of God's destiny for our lives.' ( Tommi Femrite)..
Each must be constantly aware of old mindsets that are hindering us, and step into a daily revelation of God love and plans for us!
" The spirit of religion is an agent of Satan assigned to prevent changes and to maintain the status quo by using religious devices." C.Peter Wagner
" A religious spirit is a demonic force that influences people to act pious, self-righteous or super-spiritual. The religious spirit has a clear-cut agenda: to disorient one's perception of who Jesus is and to stand in the way of God's effort to build His glorious Church." Jonas Clark
There are two typical tactics that a religious spirit can work on a leader..and his/her prayer people. Keep your spiritual eyes open for signs of these:
1. A sense that God can not rescue them form the current testing or situation they are in - even if, they've just seen amazing miracles - so they run, hide, quit or go into isolation or depression.
2. A sense that God has abandoned them -even tho God was just with them, showing His amazing power and love thru a series of answered prayers, or meetings or events!
A religious spirit will work to convince the people of God that He is not who He said He was, and does not have the power to move, OR that He will not fulfill His promises and decrees. ("Nothing's going to happen - God doesn't care." ...or "Nothings ever going to change.".etc.)
" The religious spirit works to kill revival by causing us to relate to and hear God differently than we should." Tommi Femrite
More to come.......
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