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Grace Magazine | By Women for Women | Fall 2017 8 The P of Being a Prayer Warrior INSPIRATIONAL I remember my grandmother cooking in the kitchen singing, "Jesus is on the mainline, tell Him what you want, call Him up and tell Him what you want." This song encourages us to talk to Jesus, similar to calling a friend. Prayer is communicating with our Lord like a person- to-person phone call, but some people find their phones more of a necessity than prayer. For example, what would you do if you were on your way to work and forgot your cell phone at home? Now, what would you do if you left your home and forgot to pray? Furthermore, what would you do if someone asked you to pray for them at the seemingly most inconvenient time? Prayer is a request or petition to God about our desires; however, intercessory prayer is praying on behalf of others. The Lord may be calling you to be a prayer warrior. A prayer warrior releases the power of God to work in the lives of others. A mother who fears the unseen danger or ungodly influences in her child's school, for example, may call on Jesus to put a hedge of protection all around her son or daughter (Job 1:10; Psalm 91). There is also the hedge of thorns prayer for parents or guardians who see their prodigal son or daughter going after things that are not of God (e.g., premarital sex, gangs, drugs and alcohol addiction). Boldly praying for a hedge of protection keeps what is external from coming in, while the hedge of thorns prayer keeps what is in from going out (Hosea 2:6). When we intercede for others, we must also remember that we cannot force the hand of God. Intercessory prayer does not always change the circumstances according to our preference, but prayer can change how we see the outcome according to God's will (Matthew 6:10). This may mean overlooking past offenses in order to win others to Christ during spiritual warfare. We must not fight against flesh and blood, but fight against demonic attacks (Ephesians 6:12). A person who failed spiritually is a victim of Satan's deceptive lies. We cannot be ignorant of Satan's devices, but we must call on Jesus for strength to ask for healing and forgiveness as Christ forgives us (2 Corinthians 2:10-11). When we please the Lord, He can cause even our enemies to be at peace with us (Proverbs 16:7). In the Bible, there was a woman named Hannah who was taunted for not being able to give birth. She wept bitterly to the Lord, but her voice was not heard although her lips moved. The priest, Eli, thought she was drunk. After Hannah