Pick Up the Sword — A Mighty Weapon

The Word of God is a mighty weapon, a powerful sword of the Spirit. Our prayer takes on new intensity as we actively engage God’s Word. Below, you will find an excerpt from my book, Unlocking Legacy: Taking Your God-Given Territory Through Prayer. The chapter on using the Bible as a mighty weapon begins with this personal testimony.

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A Mighty Weapon

As soon as the door closed behind him, I ran to the bedroom collapsing on my knees beside the bed. “Lord, change him! Please! God, I don’t know what to do; I’m done; I’ve got nothing left to give.”

My prayer was an all too familiar plea oozing out from not just a broken marriage but a broken life. Tension filled every moment we spent together. Psychological abuse scarred my mind and bruised my soul, leaving indelible marks too deep for human eyes. It was a cycle that began days into our marriage and continued unabated—a cycle of mutual destruction that we both tried and failed to change.

As I wept, I heard the Lord speak sharply—not in my ears, but into my heart in a way that stunned me, “Leave him to me. It’s you who needs to change.” God’s words were not condemning but, nonetheless, assertive and unwavering. Even though the abuse was identifiable and the games of emotional volleyball real, I knew, beyond a doubt, God was right. He saw what I was obviously blind to.

Rather than prayer, my petitions flowed from a cesspool of self-loathing. God had heard enough of my bitter grumbling filled with self-pity. God was bringing change, but not how I wanted nor with whom I had hoped. At that moment, God presented me with two options: living pitifully or powerfully. The choice was mine.

Refocus

Intense brokenness thrust me into God’s loving arms and brokenness kept me there. A new level of surrender was necessary for Him to do in me what must be done. I needed radical spiritual surgery removing every self-defacing system I had previously relied on self-protection and self-righteousness, selfish desires and selfish ambitions, self-reliance and self-conceit, self-service and self-gratification.

Each me-centered motivation was a cancerous tumor of sin, destroying everyone around me. Such invasive intervention from God would go beyond a single moment, day or week, but rather a necessary continuum throughout my life. Every rotten attitude and fermenting mindset had to go. I had to fully acknowledge that I was filled with dis-ease, contaminating my relationships with an infectious malady.

My tone changed to deep and submissive resolve, “Whatever it takes, Lord, change me.” God’s Word had become a mighty weapon for change!

Shortly afterward, I was watching a Christian television program called 100 Huntley Street. One of the guests talked about declaring the word of God over personal circumstances and relationships. My spirit grabbed hold of the concept, knowing it was a strategic prayer tool that I desperately needed.

A Sword

Almost immediately I began to pick up the Word of God in a new way, learning to use it as a mighty weapon in my daily struggles. God gave me many passages to declare and decree in prayer over myself and the things I was facing. Through Psalm 84, I began to proclaim God’s promise to take me through all difficulties. I prayed with a new confidence knowing that God was with me and that I was secure in Him.

“My soul yearns, even faints for you Lord. The place I want most to be is near You, near Your altar of sacrifice. You are my King and my God, and I will continually praise You. I am blessed! My strength is in You. I have set my whole heart on pursuing Your face and Your Kingdom. I know that there are difficult places that You are taking me through. Yes, Lord! You are leading me through! You are not abandoning me in this valley, but You are leading me through! Even when I pass through the places of weeping, I am digging wells that will sustain and strengthen others who also walk this path. I ask for deep pools of refreshing for everyone else who will journey this valley. I am not weak, fragile or broken. You are taking me from strength to strength . . . my whole trust is in You, Lord. My past does not dictate my future. Today is a new day.”

I also began to declare Psalm 1:1-3 and other Bible verses over my husband. By inserting his name, I personalized these Scriptures in prayer declaration, annihilating my negative mindsets and the devil’s lies with God’s mighty sword.

“My husband is blessed! Lord, he does not walk in step with the wicked. Nor does he stand in the way that sinners take. He doesn’t waste his time sitting in the company of mockers. My husband delights in the law of the Lord. Oh God, he takes great delight in Your word, meditating on it day and night. While he is working or resting bring Your Word into his thoughts and settle it deep in his heart. My husband is like a tree planted by streams of water. Oh Lord, cause his spiritual roots to go down deep, drawing strength from You. You are his Source of all good things. My husband’s life will yield fruit in every season, continually being productive. Lord, You know the season he is in now and the one You are drawing him into in the future. You have determined that my husband’s life will not wither. Your portion for him is not barrenness, brokenness or waste, but whatever he does will prosper. God, You are watching over him and making all his ways straight as You lead him into righteousness. He will be an example to many men, young and old, showing the difference You make in our lives.”

Power to Change

Rather than dramatic or instantaneous changes in either my own or my husband’s behavior, God worked out a consistent and continuous process of transformation in us both. What’s more, the sword of the Spirit exposed my perverse attitudes and behaviors, allowing God to increasingly deal with my internal garbage. Many of the problems in our marriage were directly connected to the invasive, ungodly roots in me. (Shocking but true!)

Other Bible verses became declarations over our marriage and family:

• repenting through Psalm 51
• seeking protection through Psalm 91
• gaining comfort through Psalm 23
• praise and worship through Psalm 149
• proclaiming victory through Psalm 30, and
• declaring wisdom, understanding and insight through Psalm 119:97-104.

The word of God became a mighty prayer weapon of warfare. With time and practice, I became increasingly skilled in its use. God knew that the greatest motivation for me to learn how to utilize this new key of unlocking legacy was through applying it in prayer for those I loved the most. The more I allowed God’s word to penetrate and change me, the more I saw changes in others.

Process

We often want instant and miraculous; God works through the process. The sword-wielding process, once learned, can be applied strategically to every area of life. Years later, I look at my husband with awe, wondering, “Who are you? Where did you come from? How did such dramatic transformation occur?” Out of the ashes of the old, God has recreated a new and amazing man worthy of honor and respect. The husband, father and man he once was is only a faint memory. By God’s marvelous grace, he truly has become a Psalms 1 man of righteousness, loving God deeply, while prospering at everything he does.

The changes in my own life, although no less drastic, continue — some slowly, others quickly. Perhaps the greatest change is in the way I pray. God taught me how to use the Bible, His powerful key to unlocking the legacy of transformational change. By speaking God’s Word back to Him, activating His authority over circumstances, the Bible becomes a mighty weapon on our tongues and in our hands.

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Unlocking Legacy: Taking Your God-Given Territory Through Prayer — Amazon.ca
Unlocking Legacy: Taking Your God-Given Territory Through Prayer — Amazon.com