Most of us eat every day, some of us too much because yesterday's food
is not enough to supply energy for today's needs. Why then, do some
of us expect yesterday's portion of heavenly manna the word of God to keep us
through today's challenges. On this program, we are going to change all that.
Let's experience God's words today and receive the power we need to live healthy,
vibrant lives. Welcome to your Daily Portion with your host, author speaker
L. David Harris. Good morning, Good morning, Good morning. It
is Thursday, September twenty one, two twenty three. Hello, my name
is L. David Harris. I am your host, and this is your
Daily Portion where we give you God's word every single day and today is no
exception. We are continuing in our lessons study series through the Book of Ephesians,
and our caption for today is practicing Battlefield Prayer. Practicing battle field Prayer.
Before we get into that, I'd like to say welcome to you and
ask you to please go over to your Daily Portion dot com join our online
community, and there we can build faith and fellowship. I'm asking you also
to pick up your Daily Portion book at your Daily Portion dot com. Let's
go ahead and pray, and then we will get underway. Father in Heaven,
thank you for giving us this new morning and for the privilege you have
entrusted to us to open up your word. And I'm asking you to help
us to know that we don't have to wait till the battle is over.
We can shout now, and we know in the end we're going to win,
because you are the captain of our souls. In Jesus name, I
pray, Amen and Amen again. There is so much to say here,
but so little time. I am thankful that God has given us seven implements
of war. In this discussion of the armor of God, the entire armor
of God, there are people who forget the final which is praying with all
supplication, with thanksgiving. So God is giving us the understanding that prayer is
key to victory in the battle against the enemy. Can I say that again?
Prayer is key to victory over the enemy in this battle we call the
Great Controversy. And so there is so much in the lesson itself that you
can go back and review. I want to add some things that maybe we
didn't talk about in the lesson. Okay, I try to add some things
that maybe we're not considered okay, And so first I want to say that
we should commit to daily intercession. Commit to daily intercession. This has to
be daily and ongoing. It's not something that we do haphazardly. It's not
something that we do just on a whim or when we feel like we need
something. We should be scheduling. And yes I did use that word.
It is a structural term. It is a strategic term. We should be
scheduling time with God in prayer apart from what Enoch did. The Bible says
that Enoch walked with God. But we see in the example of Jesus where
he came. He separated himself a great while before day, and the Bible
says, and there he prayed before he went to serve the multitudes he received
from God his father. You see where that's going. Also, also the
Bible talks about Daniel, who at least three times a day, but certainly
those three times a day he opened up his windows and knelt down and faced
Jerusalem, and he spoke to God as to a friend. And so we
want to commit to God in prayer every single day. And so your call
to action in that case is to designate specific times. I don't know what
they are, morning, noon, and evening. I don't know. It
could be in your vehicle instead of listening to the radio, you could pray.
I don't know. It's up to you. But the Bible does say
that in James Chapter five, in verse sixteen, the effectual fervent prayer of
a righteous man availeth much. And so we want you to keep a journal,
keep a journal, a prayer journal, and note down specific needs and
celebrate answered prayers. And I know it sounds so systematic, there's no harm
in that. Now. If that's not your style, please at least commit
to praying multiple times a day at a specific time. Number two, support
spiritual leaders in prayer. Did not the Bible say that we should pray for
those leaders in our world? Well, how much more should we pray for
those who lead the people of God? And so we want to pray for
leaders and pastors and missionaries often face intense spiritual warfare and they need support.
You may not be one of the people that may go outside and knock on
doors or speak to people like salespeople, cold calling people on the telephone,
or approaching those you do not know. You may not be that person,
but you can be. And yea even must be the one who praise for
those who are the frontline spiritual workers. And of course there are people in
the background who are who have become even more sort of scene, if you
want to say, during the pandemic that we've been through, that are on
a daily basis making sure that the message of God goes out into the airwaves,
on the internet in other places. And so we pray for those leaders
as well. So your call to action is to set aside, maybe once
a week, set aside time to pray specifically for spiritual leaders in your community
and around the world. In fact, the Bible says here in Hebrews chapter
thirteen and verse eighteen, pray for us, for we trust we have good
contents in all things, willing to live honestly. And now I want to
talk about meditating on calls to prayer. Meditating on calls to prayer. There
was a text in La Luke chapter eighteen and verse one, and it reads,
and he spake a parable unto them to this end, men aren't always
to pray and not faint, So seek to understand the significance in your own
spiritual journey. There are things that we talk about sort of theoretically, but
we don't seek to apply it to our own lives. In fact, Missus
White, she said that it would be well if we would invest some time
every single day on one passage rather than a whole swath of passages without any
definite end in view. Fix your mind on one passage and see how it
relates to the plan of salvation and the plan of salvation for you. And
this is really saying the same thing. So seek to understand this passage's significance
in others. Even in the lessons, study about times of war and prayer,
warfare and prayer, and see how this can enhance your spiritual journey.
Here is another one. Acknowledge and prepare for spiritual warfare. You have to
know that this is a battle. As I was praying a little bit earlier,
that we should not wait until the battle is over. We can shout
now knowing that we are going to win. Why because Jesus is the captain
of our souls. He's the one that gave us and prescribe the armorament of
war in the whole armor of God, so we can quench the fiery darts
of the wicked. And so we want to be clear that this is indeed
a war. We shouldn't take it lightly. We shouldn't just rush out into
our day. We should not think that we're safe in our homes because we're
home behind lock and key. No, there is no time, on no
day, that we are safe, except that we dedicate ourselves to God,
our father. And the Bible does read here in Ephesians chapter six and verse
twelve, reminding us for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places. And so another call to action is celebrate
God's promises through prayer. As you pray, recount and celebrate his promises found
in scripture. Here's one in Philippians chapter four and verse six. Be careful
for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication. And it doesn't stop
right there. It says, and with thanksgiving, let your requests be made
known unto God. And so we celebrate, we recount, we pray and
say, God, you promised. God, you said you said that there
hath no temptation taken me, but such as is common to man. You
said that through David as he was giving his testimony. I have been young
and I have been old. Yea, I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
nor seed begging bread. So as we are on this battlefield through prayer,
let us go to the fight knowing that Jesus is our captain. Peace.
Thanks for joining us listening to friends. Always remember we cannot live by
bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
This has been your daily portion with l David Harris, make it a great day.