Lazarus had died, the mourners were with the family. In a normal situation, this was the end.  He had been buried.  But Jesus came on the scene. He didn’t make a big production.  Jesus asked that they roll away the stone that sealed the cave where Lazarus was placed. He simply said a prayer for the sake of the crowd that had gathered, then said, “Lazarus, come forth.” Soon, Lazarus came walking out of the tomb.  He was still bound in his grave clothes and had his face covered with a napkin.  It took others to set him free of his grave clothes.

To look at the modern church, one might say we were all but buried.  Jesus is calling us to come forth. He is calling for the warriors to arise. He is calling for the army to be who we must be in this day. Every day, we need to put on our whole armor and go to battle.  Satan is after the body of Christ.  If he can keep us depressed and stressed, we cannot focus on our task. 

Many are still bound by their grave clothes. It is up to us to help set them free. We can overcome and set them free if we get down to the business of serious prayer.  The enemy is not going to be defeated with a ten-minute prayer in the morning and a ten-minute prayer at night. These are serious times, and it is going to take serious warriors.

Are you a prayer warrior? It doesn’t take any special skill to pray.  It just takes an investment of prayer in a quiet place. The biggest enemy of a full prayer life is distraction.  The enemy will do all he can to distract us.  But we will not be defeated.  We will overcome because the power of God is within us.

Take time to be an encourager, reaching out to someone struggling and helping them get free of the grave clothes of fear, anxiety, depression, distraction and being overly busy. We can win the battle if we go to fight.  All God requires is for us to show up with worship and prayer.

I often use the story of Jehosophat.  He was in a horrible predicament. He had three armies coming against him at one time.  It looked like, in the natural there was no way he could win.  But God told him to go out to fight and that the Lord would fight for them.  Jehosophat sent his worshippers in the front to go before them with praise.

We can fight the enemy better, if we enter into God’s presence with praise and worship.  This will get God’s attention and he will fight our battles.  He only wants us to lean on Him.

2 Chr 20:15-18 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.   16 Tomorrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.  18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the Lord, worshipping the Lord. 

I love this story because it shows how good our God is to deliver those who trust Him.  We, too can trust Jesus to deliver us from the things the enemy has planned. We have to stand strong, stay in the word and pray like we have never prayed before now.  It is almost time to march out against the enemy. Make sure you go to battle with your praise and worship in the forefront.

BE BOLD, BE BRAVE AND KEEP YOUR GOD FOCUS

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