April 4: Prayer IS the battle!
1 Samuel 25:1-27:7,1 Chron. 12:1-7, 1Samuel 27:8-28:2, 29:1-11, 1 Chron. 12:19-22, 1 Samuel 30:1-31
This is the scripture passage Bryce Grant preached about in Voces Unidas that drove me to my knees in travail for my wayward son.
1 Samuel 30:1-18
Amplified Bible (AMP)
30 Now when David and his men came home to Ziklag on the third day, they found that the Amalekites had made a raid on the South (the Negeb) and on Ziklag, and had struck Ziklag and burned it with fire,
2 And had taken the women and all who were there, both great and small, captive. They killed no one, but carried them off and went on their way.
3 So David and his men came to the town, and behold, it was burned, and their wives and sons and daughters were taken captive.
4 Then David and the men with him lifted up their voices and wept until they had no more strength to weep.
5 David’s two wives also had been taken captive, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess and Abigail, the widow of Nabal the Carmelite.
6 David was greatly distressed, for the men spoke of stoning him because the souls of them all were bitterly grieved, each man for his sons and daughters. But David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord his God.
7 David said to Abiathar the priest, Ahimelech’s son, I pray you, bring me the ephod. And Abiathar brought him the ephod.
8 And David inquired of the Lord, saying, Shall I pursue this troop? Shall I overtake them? The Lord answered him, Pursue, for you shall surely overtake them and without fail recover all.
9 So David went, he and the 600 men with him, and came to the brook Besor; there those remained who were left behind.
10 But David pursued, he and 400 men, for 200 stayed behind who were too exhausted and faint to cross the brook Besor.
11 They found an Egyptian in the field and brought him to David, and gave him bread and he ate, and water to drink,
12 And a piece of a cake of figs and two clusters of raisins; and when he had eaten, his spirit returned to him, for he had eaten no food or drunk any water for three days and three nights.
13 And David said to him, To whom do you belong? And from where have you come? He said, I am a young man of Egypt, servant to an Amalekite; and my master left me because three days ago I fell sick.
14 We had made a raid on the South (Negeb) of the Cherethites and upon that which belongs to Judah and upon the South (Negeb) of Caleb. And we burned Ziklag with fire.
15 And David said to him, Can you take me down to this band? And he said, Swear to me by God that you will neither kill me nor deliver me into the hands of my master, and I will bring you down to this band.
16 And when he had brought David down, behold, the raiders were spread abroad over all the land, eating and drinking and dancing because of all the great spoil they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from the land of Judah.
17 And David smote them from twilight even to the evening of the next day, and not a man of them escaped, except 400 youths who rode camels and fled.
18 David recovered all that the Amalekites had taken and rescued his two wives.
Bryce encouraged those of us who had wayward children or family members to go after them. And he promised we would "recover ALL"! He then invited us to come forward for prayer.
I stood down at the altar and groaned like never before. God clearly spoke to me and said, "Pray like this every day and your son will come back." From that day on, I prayed longer and harder than ever before. There were days I wept and cried all day long. (I can do this - I work at a church where prayer is allowed, thank God!)
Folks, travailing prayer IS the battle! We don't need to round up a bunch of soldiers and weapons and go after our loved ones! Just pray continually and consistently. If we really and truly believed in the power of prayer, we would NEVER, EVER let ANYTHING get in the way of our prayer time!
James 5:16
Amplified Bible (AMP)
16 Confess to one another therefore your faults (your slips, your false steps, your offenses, your sins) and pray [also] for one another, that you may be healed and restored [to a spiritual tone of mind and heart]. The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].
My Prodigal Son July 2011
On Friday afternoon as I was packing for camp meeting, I
decided to take a break. I made a cup of coffee and sat in my favorite chair in
my favorite room to chat with my very best Friend.
As I began to worship God, my thoughts and prayers turned, as
they always do, toward my son, Dayn.
Suddenly I heard the still small voice of my Creator say, “The
prodigal is coming home next week. Home
to Me, and also he will move back home right after church camp.”
I was completely shocked, even though this is exactly what his
dad, Scott , and I had been intensely
fasting and praying about for more than two years. God’s presence was thick as I cried and
worshiped. I called my mom, and we wept
and rejoiced together.
On Thursday night as Jason Sciscoe Sciscoe
When the call was given for the church to come forward, I went
back and sat by my son. I repeated, as
best as I could, the message to the church, only I personalized it. I said, “Dayn, religion has not worked for
you. Religion has been oppressive in
your life. The time has come for you to
have a funeral for religion, bury it, and focus on RELATIONSHIP! RELATIONSHIP with Jesus
Christ !” I then repeated the
rest of what the preacher said. “The
rain will come, the harvest, and then you will be a giant slayer in the kingdom of God
I watched as his eyes began to fill with tears. I sat beside
him and travailed as he repented. Minister Hanthorne Germantown , Wisconsin Scott
prayed on his left side, and I sat on his right. Dayn’s grandparents, along with his sister, Scotia , and other dear friends, gathered around us and
began to travail. It was as if the
sanctuary became a delivery room as my son was reborn into the kingdom of God Darlene Boyte
Dayn decided to stay for the remainder of the week, and at the
Friday evening choir practice, evangelist Mark Showalter
On Saturday, Dayn’s dad received a text from him. “Is it ok if
I move back home on Sunday?”
I am so grateful to Pastor Grant and my church family for their
many prayers, love and support.
“…bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring
on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill
it: and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again;
he was lost, and is found.”
by Vicki
Leonardson
PS. Notes from the
prodigals dad…
As I was driving up to camp alone on Thursday I was
overwhelmed by an amazing presence of God! I was driving down the road weeping
and speaking in tongues much of the way. Here’s my Facebook post from that
morning…
“On my way back up to camp…there is a spirit of expectancy
upon me…just you watch what my God will do!”
God began to show me a picture of a concrete block wall that
was beginning to crumble…I could see the mortar falling out and the wall
moving. God said, “The wall is coming down today!”.
At the end of the service when Dayn was going to leave camp
and go back home I could not see the wall coming down…I was discouraged. I was
on the praise team at the altar call and I could not see any evidence of a
response from my son. I felt impressed to just close my eyes and worship God in
spite of what I could see. When I opened my eyes Dayn was doubled over in the
pew weeping! I ran down to where he was seated...Vicki
was on the pew next to him groaning in travail. I put my arm around his
shoulders and felt the great-heaving sobs of a soul in deep repentance. I
looked up and saw all of my brothers and sisters in the Lord gathered around
weeping and praying for my son. I felt such love emanating from their prayers!
I deeply appreciate ALL of the family of God! In these perilous times we need
the support of each other.
When I looked into Dayn’s eyes afterwards I was looking into
the eyes of my son again…not the eyes of a caged animal as it had seemed for so
long. To me this was the greatest miracle I have ever witnessed! Thank you Jesus for my son! He that was lost has come home!
by Scott Leonardson
"Dear God, I pray for families everywhere who have prodigal family members. Help them to encourage themselves in You as David did! Help them to fall on their face and travail like never before! Help them to realize the power available to them through prayer! Reach down and tug at these precious lost sheep, Oh God! Bring them home! Thank You for Your blood You shed on Calvary. I give You all the glory and honor! I thank You ahead of time for the mighty miracles You are going to do through our effectual fervent prayers! In Your precious Name, the name of Jesus, AMEN."
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