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He Who the Son Sets Free is Free Indeed Satan has been defeated through the cross. Principalities and powers have been spoiled (Col. 2:15). We are enforcing this victroy through our prayers. These prayers are for born-again believers who desire to see the growth of the kingdom of God. We will see the growth of God's kingdom and the destruction of the powers of darkness thought our prayers. Revival and glory are increasing. Our prayers are like gasoline to the fire. The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness is an excellent example of Satan’s desire to attack believers during times of weakness. After Jesus was baptised in the Jordan River, he went without food for forty days in the desert. Satan saw this as a great opportunity to try to tempt Him. We know this is the way the enemy thought because Luke 4:13 reads, “When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.” Any time a person is doing positive things for God, Satan will try to stop them. The higher you progress in Christian leadership, the higher you are on Satan’s hit list. Pastors and other church leaders are under continuous spiritual attack because they spend the majority of their time working to build God’s Kingdom. Prayer is the Answer Where does a church leader find help to combat all of these difficulties? The answer is prayer. It has the power to overcome any problems or obstacles. Jesus demonstrated this time after time. His prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane before His death, emphasized the power of prayer. He said, “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Matt. 18:19-20). The idea of partnership in prayer is not new. Many times in the New Testament, Christian leaders asked the people to pray for themselves and for others. For example, Paul asked for prayer from the Romans (Rom. 15:31), the Ephesians (Eph. 6:19-20), the Colossians (Col. 4:3) and others that he wrote. Partnering in prayer goes even farther back than that. The first biblical example of prayer partnership is recorded in the Old Testament (Ex. 17:8-13). When the Amalekites attacked the children of Israel, two men, Aaron and Hur, stood with thir leader Moses. They partnered with him by praying for him and supporting him. The Scripture says that the Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim and Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites." Tomorrow, I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites would win, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites would win. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.With the help of Moses’ brother Aaron and a layman named Hur, Joshua was able to be victorious against the forces that were trying to destroy God’s children. Moses was one of the greatest leaders who ever lived. He spoke to God face-to-face as a person would speak to a friend (Ex. 33:11). Yet, he still could not do the work of God alone. Even he needed assistance and encouragement. Fortunately, Aaron and Hur recognized his need and helped him. Our hope is that you will recognize that prayer warriors are needed to support pastors and other church leaders. Americans tend to admire rugged individualists more than team players.We marvel at the way a superstar baskeball player scores points, but we overlook the importance of how he works with his teammates. Ministry is never a one-man show; it requires teamwork. We’ve found that no person alone can fetch oil from beneath an ocean. We’ve found that we are becoming increasingly dependent on one another—not only in our country, but also all around the world.The spirit of independence will not cost more than it is worth. On the steep slope ahead, holding hands is necessary. The need for teamwork and cooperation is becoming evident even to everyone. It should be even more obvious to us believers. The most under-utilized source of spiritual power in our churches today is intercession for Christian leaders.Aaron and Hur were committed and aggressive prayer partners; ready to jump in and help their leader become all that God intended him to be.
That’s the same kind of assistance church leaders need today. The greatest support anyone can give a leader is to pray for him or her.
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