How to Pray to the Lord

The Second Book of Chronicles. What we want to do this afternoon is reinforce this time of crying out that we began this week. I am going to read a few chapters from the book Feet of Clay, which deals precisely with prayer and some of the principles that should govern our prayer life—how we pray to the Lord.

This book begins with the life of King Jehoshaphat, and one of the great moments in King Jehoshaphat’s life was when this great army, which we spoke about last Sunday, came to destroy Judah and drive the people of God out of their land. And King Jehoshaphat cried out to the Lord. He was a man who loved God, and instead of fleeing, becoming depressed, or surrendering, Jehoshaphat decided to cry out to the Lord and lift his eyes toward God.

And by doing this, he left us a series of principles that I explore in this book, among other things. I also speak about warfare worship. What we are carrying out this afternoon is warfare worship. It is when we proclaim the will of the Lord, when we break down spiritual walls with our worship and make use of our weapons. As that chorus said, “Praise is the stroke of a sword, blows of war that come from God.” And there are many other things that the people of Judah used in that story to bring down the enemy and win a great victory in what appeared to be a hopeless situation. And we are going to look at some of these principles.

This entire book is based on the life of Jehoshaphat, but that is simply a starting point for our own lives. As you will see, these are principles that we must put into practice, and we must study these principles and use them in our own personal lives.

So instead of giving up, Jehoshaphat prays, and it says that when Jehoshaphat hears that this great army is coming against Judah and is already drawing near, it says:

“…He was afraid, and Jehoshaphat humbled himself to seek the Lord and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah…”

Proclaiming a fast as a congregation, as a people, is nothing new. It is the essence of the history of the church throughout the centuries.

“…And the people of Judah gathered together to ask the Lord for help; they also came from all the cities of Judah to seek help from the Lord…”

How wonderful it is when the people of God call a great gathering, when we come together and cry out to the Lord. Oh, brothers and sisters, what would happen if this nation did that? If President Obama—may God bless and enlighten him—were to declare a fast and a holy convocation in the United States. Listen to me, the earth would tremble. But many times we human beings are too sophisticated, and we establish human principles instead of the principles of the Spirit.

“…And then Jehoshaphat stood up…—after convening this great assembly—…in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new courtyard, and said, ‘O Lord, God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations? Is there not such strength and power in Your hand that no one can withstand You?’…”

What is Jehoshaphat doing there? He is worshiping the Lord. He is saying, “You have power, Father; there is no one who can withstand You. You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations.”

“…Our God, did You not drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel? And did You not give it forever to the descendants of Abraham, Your friend? And they have lived in it and built a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, ‘If calamity should come upon us—the sword of judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this house and before You, because Your name is in this house. And because of our afflictions, we will cry out to You, and You will hear us and save us’…”

Jehoshaphat is reminding God of Israel’s history and His relationship with His people. We have to remind God: there have been revivals before throughout history; there have been times of drought like the one in which we are living, and the people of God have cried out, humbled themselves, asked forgiveness, and God has sent blessing.

The Word says, “…if My people humble themselves and cry out and cleanse themselves of their sins, I will hear from My throne and heal their land and come to them….” So we have to remind the Lord, “Lord, You have said this; You have said that.” Do you remember what I said about standing upon a word that God has given? And that is what he does here.

“…Now, therefore, behold the children of Ammon and Moab and those of Mount Seir, whose land You would not allow Israel to pass through when they came from the land of Egypt, but instead they turned away from them and did not destroy them. Behold, this is how they repay us: they come to drive us out of the inheritance that You gave us as a possession…”

Brothers and sisters, I cannot keep myself from saying one little thing here, and that is that nowadays there is much talk about Israel dividing the land with the Palestinians so that there may be peace. And what I see throughout the entire Bible is that God gave that land to the Hebrews. Brothers and sisters, not because they are the best people in the world, because the Hebrews are rebellious and proud; they have sinned against the Lord, but God gave them that land. It says, “…for all eternity…”

He made an irrevocable covenant with Abraham. Not even the Jewish government has the right to give that land to anyone. Because that land is an inheritance that God gave them, and I cannot be more just than God; I cannot be more just than the Word. I am scandalized when I hear Christians saying that Israel should share its land. Because that is what we find throughout all of Scripture: “You gave us this land; no one has the right to take it away from us.” I do not care about the historical and sociological complexities that may have arisen during the years when the people of God were outside the land; God’s promise remained with Israel. And that land belongs to the people of God. And we have to be praying that those people will not have to surrender even one inch of that land, brothers and sisters.

Study the Bible, study the prophecies, study the Word, and then you will understand why that land cannot be negotiated away. And so that was an unpaid announcement; it is an added extra.

“…Behold, this is how they repay us: they come to drive us out of the inheritance that You gave us as a possession. O our God, will You not judge them?—and here is a key phrase; it says—…for we have no strength against such a great multitude coming against us. We do not know what to do, and our eyes are turned toward You…”

That is Jehoshaphat’s prayer. It is the prayer that was answered with a tremendous prophecy that instructed the people on how they were going to defeat that enemy nation. I say here that, upon hearing about the approaching invading army, the first thing Jehoshaphat did was accurately recognize the situation he faced.

The first thing he did was to be precise, to recognize what situation he was facing. He acknowledged the great danger he was in. He clearly saw what was coming against him; he was specific. Here is the key: when you pray, you have to be specific. That is the central point on which I am focusing. He was specific in defining and acknowledging his situation. It is important for us to understand what we are experiencing, not to go through life thinking about little birds in the air like an ostrich with its head buried in the sand, thinking that if we ignore the problem, we will not have to face it.

Personally, I prefer to acknowledge my giants. In the long run, I find it more beneficial to become painfully aware of my limitations, my personal struggles, and the difficult circumstances of my life. I have to name my giants, giving them a first and last name. God wants a realistic people, not so that they will obsess over their problems, but so that they will know specifically how to tackle them.

You have to define your situation. You have to tell the Lord in lavish detail what you are facing, where that addiction comes from, why your child is behaving that way, and how he is behaving. What financial situation are you going through? What marital problem is afflicting you? Where is the problem with your finances or with that dead end in which you find yourself, that quagmire in your life? You have to lay it all out; you have to be honest with yourself and specific before God.

Many people are living an artificial life with little connection to the reality they actually inhabit. They disguise their shortcomings, blame others, and ignore financial problems until those problems hit them over the head with a baseball bat. There is the poor woman telling her husband, “Look, pay the electric bill; we are already two months behind.” And he replies, completely unconcerned, “Don’t worry; we still have plenty of time.” Then the day comes when he tries to turn on the light, and nothing happens.

No, look at your situation clearly. Be specific in defining your problems. Specificity is key in the Christian life. Being specific when addressing the situations of life is one of the most powerful principles for success. You have to make lists. You have to write things down.

If God places a thought pregnant with promise in you, write it down before it escapes you. “Write the vision,” it says in Habakkuk Chapter 2. Write down the things God has placed in your heart; present to God specifically what you need from Him and where your problem lies. Look within yourself; acknowledge your shortcomings. Look at your situation clearly. Be specific in defining your problems. Specificity is key in the Christian life.

In verse 2, Jehoshaphat sees that a great multitude is coming against him. They are coming from the other side of the sea and from Syria; they are currently in a region neighboring Judah, and they are resolutely coming against him. He is clear about what is happening. He does not conceal what is happening. He knows that this is an army much more powerful than they are, that there is not much time left, and that it is coming with the intention of violently taking possession of the land and driving the Hebrew people out of their possession.

He becomes well informed about what is happening, experiences fear in his heart, and acknowledges that he is afraid. Brothers and sisters, when the enemy comes against us, it is important that we know what his weapons consist of and what ours consist of.

When David prepares to confront Goliath, he tells him, “You come against me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel.”

David knows what the giant has and what he himself has. David was clearly aware of every weapon his opponent possessed; at the same time, he knew specifically what resources he had and what the true nature of his own armor was.

As I write these lines—I wrote this several months ago—I am deeply involved in the planning process for the construction of the new sanctuary. This is one of the great tasks currently before me as a pastor. It may be the greatest challenge I have undertaken in my entire ministerial career. It is the most ambitious and risky project our congregation has undertaken in its entire history.

I am very conscious that we are building during one of the worst economic crises seen in many decades. As the senior pastor and administrator, I have to measure exactly what this task entails. I cannot afford too many inaccuracies, because I know that the financial terrain through which I am moving is terribly treacherous and dangerous and that it will not forgive even small errors.

During the planning process, I have engaged the services of Christian financial consultants who have given me sober and precise advice. We have developed a detailed strategy for negotiating with the banks and presenting our finances to them clearly and favorably. Glory to God, they listened to us and gave us the loan we needed.

I have had to identify the different aspects of this process. On the one hand, there is the multimillion-dollar financing that we need to receive from a bank. There is the financial campaign that needs to raise a million-dollar sum from the congregation, which we have been planning for months; we are already in the midst of it, and we are trusting that you will be faithful. Amen. We have to deal with hiring a construction company suited to our needs, one capable of operating within the methodology we want to employ. We have that company; it has already been working with us for months.

And given the grave financial situation the nation and even the entire world are going through, I am very conscious of the emotional state of my congregation, and I know that I must address their very legitimate concerns in a way that directs their gaze toward the almighty God, who knows nothing of scarcity or economic recessions, and that inspires enough confidence in them to give boldly and generously. Say amen.

In short, I have to be extremely clear-minded—this is my point—specific, and attentive to detail. At the same time that I operate from a posture of faith, I have to pay the utmost attention to details; I cannot afford to be careless or superficial in my planning process.

That is to say, brothers and sisters, in the believer’s spiritual journey, the element of faith does not prevent us from remaining aware of obstacles and details or from employing sound planning and strategic skills. In other words, it does not prevent us from scouting the land, as Moses did, before possessing it, even though we know that God has promised to give it to us.

Incidentally, the attention to detail reflected in Moses’ instructions to the two spies is tremendously instructive. Before sending them on their mission, he instructs them in this way; he says:

“…Go up from here into the Negev, and go up into the hill country, and see what the land is like and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; what the inhabited land is like, whether it is good or bad; and what the inhabited cities are like, whether they are camps or fortified strongholds; and what the soil is like, whether it is fertile or barren, and whether there are trees in it or not…”

You see the specific focus. He has a battle. He believes in God. He has done incredible things to reach that moment, but he still sends people out to gather information. In the same way, we have to inform ourselves in our lives. We have to read, we have to study, we have to investigate deeply, we have to ask the Lord for wisdom, we have to bring our petitions. We have to be clearheaded, brothers and sisters; it is not all simply prayer, prayer, anointing, anointing. No, we have to put wood on the altar so that God can set it alight. And that is the part we do.

Notice the specific and detailed instructions, the meticulous outlook of the competent statesman and military leader seeking precise intelligence about the elements that will determine the strategy to follow. Faith does not deny clearheadedness. The two things have to go together. We have to ask the Lord for wisdom and intelligence. The Bible also speaks of knowledge.

Ask the Lord to give you intelligence, knowledge, and strategy. In times of scarcity and financial barrenness, people endowed with special intelligence are needed to find resources where others do not see them. That is why we have to ask the Lord, “Give me knowledge, Father; give me a strategy to dig and find where others find nothing.” We need a clear outlook, an attention to detail that allows us to go before God our Provider with a specific petition, so that we may receive strategy and resources for the battle ahead of us. Define your situation, count the cost, name your giants.

Here is an illustrative passage: Bartimaeus, the blind man, cries out to Jesus, “…Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me.” Finally, the Lord says, “Bring him to me.” The point is that when Bartimaeus comes before the Lord, the Lord Jesus Christ says to him, “Well, what do you want me to do for you?” I have always said that this man comes there feeling his way like a blind man, and the Lord knows that he is blind; he knows what Bartimaeus wants, but he says to him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

In other words, the Lord wants to hear your petition from you. And I often say that the Lord does not answer our petitions immediately because they are frequently not well defined; we have not counted the cost of the answer we expect; we are not sufficiently aware of what it entails; there is not enough force behind the cry we are lifting up to the Lord. We are simply there doing it in a cheap and superficial way, and God wants us to dig, to go deep, to gain awareness, to mature, to work through the petition. And that is why he acts as though he does not hear, but he is listening.

Jesus heard Bartimaeus the very first moment he cried out, but Bartimaeus needed to become more aware. So when the Lord says to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” “Lord, that I may regain my sight.” “Well, let it be done according to your faith. Receive your sight.” You have to be specific, you see. That is why sometimes we have to work on our prayers. This is not simply a superficial cry. We have to work on our prayers and spell things out in detail. We have to speak with God as one speaks with a psychiatrist. Take your time, go into great detail, define the problem, walk over and around the problem, look at the contours of the problem, look at its different facets, pour it all out before the Lord. You yourself will become increasingly aware of your own situation and will be enriched as a result.

And when you launch that cannonball at the heart of God, it will strike dead center, and God will respond to your needs. But you have to be specific. We have to ask the Lord specifically and in great detail for what we want. That is very important.

Then, secondly, speaking of specificity, there is a second, very important thing that Jehoshaphat did. And remember that we are talking about this in the context of this week, when we are praying to the Lord and seeking direction from the Lord. Jehoshaphat humbled himself and sought the face of the Lord. The key word is “humbled himself.”

Many people suffer because they prefer to do things on their own. They seek God as a last resort. They do not heed advice, and they do not seek wisdom from him. They stubbornly insist on doing things their own way, using their own inadequate resources. As we have seen, Jehoshaphat himself sometimes made the mistake of relying too heavily on his own reasoning, with disastrous consequences.

In this case, the very desperate nature of the situation forced him to go directly to the throne of God to ask for help and receive wisdom. Verse 3 tells us the following; it says:

“…Then he was afraid, and Jehoshaphat humbled himself to inquire of the LORD…”

Do not be afraid to acknowledge that you are afraid. In our country we have a saying: it is better for people to say, “He fled here,” than, “He died here.” Wise Solomon puts it in an even more graphic way; he says, “A living dog is better than a dead lion.” Often it is much better to admit that you are afraid and do not know what to do. It is better to seek help from God or from others than to insist on drawing water from your own dry well with resources you do not actually possess.

We have to ask the Lord for wisdom and direction. The Apostle James says in James, chapter 1, “If anyone lacks wisdom, what should he do? Let him ask God, who gives abundantly and without reproach, and it will be given to him…”

The first thing I seek when I have a need or a task in my life is help. “Lord, give me wisdom; give me the strategy.” I believe in a God who speaks, a God who illuminates, who tells us which way we must walk. God promises in Psalms 8:32, “I will make you understand,” says the Lord, “and I will teach you the way you should go.” It is a promise.

You can go before God and say to him, “Father, I have a promise here that says that you will teach me the way in which I should walk. I need wisdom; give me wisdom.” And God will have to be faithful; he is faithful. The Holy Spirit is the instructor par excellence.

The Bible says that he will lead us into all truth. Believe; ask the Lord for wisdom and humble yourself. Ask him in faith, believing the promise that he will abundantly give you what you ask of him. Tell him, “Lord, the truth is that I do not have what I need. My hands are empty. I have to give birth, and I have run out of strength.”

God will not allow you to be put to shame. He himself calls us to trust in him. “Commit your way to the LORD and trust in him,” the Word says, “and he will act.” That “he will act,” brothers and sisters, covers everything. He will act. What will he do? What you need. He will work as he knows how to work. “He will display your righteousness,” the Word says, “like the light, and your justice like the noonday.” There is great power in weakness. There is power in acknowledging our weakness, in deliberately cultivating a sense of insufficiency. Why? For the man without God, the woman without God, cultivating weakness leads to depression and failure; it leads to inaction.

Now, when a son of God or a woman of God cultivates weakness in the spirit, what that person does is acknowledge, “I do not have the victory, but God does. I do not have the answer, but God is more than able to give me all the wisdom I need. I do not have the power, but God is almighty. I do not have the weapons, but God has promised me his full armor.”

And when we take our eyes off ourselves, acknowledge our limitations, and place our hope exclusively in God, our weakness becomes the perfect platform upon which all the power of heaven can be displayed on our behalf.

The Apostle Paul declares, “When I am weak, what happens? Then I am strong. Therefore,” he says, “I will most gladly glory instead in my weaknesses, so that the power of God may rest upon me.” A man or woman must first strip away self-sufficiency and a false sense of independence and say, “You know what, Lord? I empty myself of all that. Fill me now with your Spirit and teach me the way in which I should walk.”

Jehoshaphat humbles himself, acknowledges his profound limitations, and thinks, “This is too great for me. We cannot do it; we do not have the weapons; we have no possibility of victory except through the mercy of God.” That, dear brothers and sisters, is where the power of a man or woman of God begins: in acknowledging, “I cannot do it; I need the grace of God.”

Brothers and sisters, that is what we are doing. I am saying to him, “Lord, something has to be done in this nation; something has to happen. This church has to move to another level, but I cannot do it. This is not a matter of a pastor manufacturing an attitude or an atmosphere; it has to be God.”

If we are going to do what I feel has to be done, it cannot be man. Our part is to cry out to the Lord: “Lord, here we are. We know that there is a great task to conquer, but we need your visitation, because we cannot do it by ourselves.”

We have to be aware of our own weakness. That limitless anointing from heaven, which will come in response to our admission of insufficiency, poured into the empty vessel we have provided for divine power through our humble acknowledgment, will be more than enough to lift us out of the pit and establish us on solid ground.

Jehoshaphat’s decision to humble himself and seek wisdom from God is inspiring and exemplary. But his search for divine help does not end there. We are told that Jehoshaphat additionally proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. First, he was specific in acknowledging his situation. Second, he cried out to God, humbled himself, and acknowledged his insufficiency. And third, he called companions to help him in his need and in his cry. He summoned all Judah.

In a theocratic culture such as Judah, the king functioned not only as a political leader but also as its spiritual head. He possessed the authority to summon all the people to cry out and fast, and he did not hesitate to use it. He involved the entire nation in appealing to the LORD for miraculous intervention.

The writer provides more detail, adding:

“…And the people of Judah gathered together to ask the LORD for help, and they also came from all the cities of Judah to seek help from the LORD…”

What principle do we see here? Prayer, yes, but perhaps even more importantly, we see a third, highly significant principle: prayer in community. That is what we are going to do this week. In prayer, the more committed people we have in the trench with us, the more powerful and effective we can be. The Lord Jesus Christ declared, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in the midst of them.” And he also said, “If two of you agree on earth concerning anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father who is in heaven.”

Through these images of plurality, the Lord sought to underscore the power found in unity, in spiritual agreement among believers. I believe in individual prayer, and I have always made it clear that collective prayer is no substitute for private prayer.

But, beloved brothers and sisters, there are situations in which you have to find a friend, a companion in the trenches, and say, “Look, help me pray, because what lies ahead of me is so difficult and so great that if I pray alone, the only thing I will accomplish is becoming discouraged.”

When we bind ourselves to two or three prayer companions, that encourages us to keep moving forward. So pray with other brothers and sisters; find people of faith so that together you can deal with life’s battles. Live life in community with believers who share your convictions. Do not try to fight the battle alone. Do not be like Elijah, who, when the diabolical attack came, went alone into the wilderness, fell into a deep depression, and ended up wishing for death.

Because when we isolate ourselves and abandon the community of faith around us, the devil can deal us the finishing blow much more easily. You know, when you are becoming depressed, when your spiritual temperature is dropping, do you know what you have to do? Instead of staying at home, run for your life and come to the house of God. Take refuge there and seek help from your brothers and sisters; pray together with someone. Join yourself to someone and say, “Brother, I need help. Pray for me. I have a temptation; I have a struggle. Stand with me, and let us go before God to seek grace from God.”

It is important… God has made us one body; we must support one another. We have to seek the fire of our brothers and sisters so that our ember does not go out. Now, when we say, “I cannot do it alone; I need the grace of God,” that is where the power of a man or woman of God begins: acknowledging this.

On the basis of that profound acknowledgment, you go and seek wisdom. You recognize the danger. You admit your total inability and take refuge like a child in the power of your God. That limitless anointing from heaven, poured into the empty vessel you have provided for divine power through your humble acknowledgment, will be more than enough to lift you out of the pit and establish you on solid ground.

I am almost finished. It says here, incidentally, that life’s battles must be fought through persistent prayer, as Jehoshaphat did. Faith is of no use if it is not expressed through specific and persistent petitions. The great Reformer Martin Luther prayed, “Beloved Lord, although I am sure of my position, I cannot maintain it without you; help me, or I am lost.”

Effective prayer requires that kind of passion and conviction. C. H. Spurgeon, the great nineteenth-century English preacher, wrote: “Prayer pulls the rope down below on earth, and the great bell rings above in the ear of God. Some barely move the bell,” Spurgeon says, “because their prayers are so languid; others merely give the rope an occasional tug, but the one who communicates with heaven is the man who boldly grasps the rope and continually pulls it with all his might.” The apostle Paul counsels, “Be anxious for nothing, but let your requests be made known through every kind of prayer and supplication.”

In other words, instead of crying, pray. Instead of letting your knees tremble, bend them. If they are bent, they will not be able to tremble. This reminds me of the joke about the young minister who was invited to preach at the seminary from which he had graduated. When the time came for him to stand up and preach, he rose and said, “What I have to say must be quite good, because my knees are already applauding.” We have already pointed out, brothers and sisters, that prayer, like faith, is not only meant to get us out of trouble and crises; prayer must bathe and saturate everything we do. It is the banner that goes before us, leading all our efforts. It must come before and after all our visions and projects. It is the element that must undergird and punctuate all the events and activities of our day.

Martin Luther declared, “I have so much to do that I must spend the first three hours of every day in prayer.” I strongly believe in preventive prayer. Do not wait until the devil is at the door to destroy you before you begin to pray. Pray continually to keep him neutralized, to shield your life beforehand against his attacks.

The best time to pray is when everything is going well, when there are no clouds in the sky and the heart is calm and at peace. In those times of quietness and even prosperity, like Joseph in Egypt, store up prayers in heaven for when the evil day of drought and scarcity comes. Fill yourself with such vitality and power, cover every window and door of your life in such a way that when the enemy launches his attack and attempts to hurl his fiery darts into your dwelling, he finds your house fortified and protected by the walls of heaven, erected brick by brick through your persistent prayer. Amen.

We are going to leave it there, brothers and sisters, but there are many important principles that we set forth in this book concerning the life of prayer and the life of praise. These are only a few specific principles. The life of Jehoshaphat is tremendously eloquent on a spiritual level. And you can learn a great deal.

I plead with you again, because this is the program God is giving us as a church. And for some reason, God led me to write about this man, whose life is exceedingly eloquent and speaks to us and instructs us. So I encourage you, brothers and sisters, in the name of the Lord. I have no interest in making a single cent from that book—I should not even have to clarify that—but I want my people to walk in step.

Get the book; use it as a support for your life of prayer and meditation, and let us make it a manual of spiritual instruction for all of us. And I know that God will do that work.

This afternoon, at the end of the service, if you have not bought your book, take one home; it will be available at the end. I hope it will be available on both sides of the exit, and if not, ushers, please help me with this so that you can take one home and study it. Above all, this week, brothers and sisters, let us raise a cry before God. Let us unite like Jehoshaphat; let us say, “Lord, we must give birth, but we need strength from you.”

Stand up now. Let us thank God for everything he has done, and let us finish as we began, brothers and sisters. Bruno, pound that piano until it breaks into pieces. We are not going to end with a whimper if we began with an explosion of faith; let us give glory and honor to the Lord.

You warriors, do not give up on me now. Come over here. Come up here, and let us finish with a steadfast spirit, brothers and sisters. We must learn what the spirit of warfare is, brothers and sisters. God wants to bless us, but we must shed our baby fat. Come over here and let us put on the armor of the warrior who does not go down easily.

Iris, come over here, my sister; leave that alone and come over here. Come. We must learn what it means to conduct ourselves like warriors until the very last moment, brothers and sisters.

Thank you, Lord, thank you. Change our hearts; give us more of your strength, Lord. Give us more of your fire, Father. Give us more of your fighting spirit, Father. Lord, transform our people; transform our hearts. Raise up the tents of your people, Lord, Father. Teach us, Lord, how to walk. Teach me first. Change my heart, Lord. Change our hearts, change our minds, change this people, Father. Change their hearts, Lord; create for yourself a true army that will bring honor and glory to your name, Lord.

Send your Spirit. Brothers and sisters, cry out with me before you leave; cry out with me. Ask the Lord; leave this place fortified. Leave this place with the anointing of God upon your life. Do not allow the devil to tear away from you what you have experienced this afternoon.