Our theme is Prayer Attack, To Bring Us Back.

My topic on this afternoon is when and how should we pray and praying before An Attack. Now, in order to understand this, you must first know what is prayer, how to pray, & when to pray. The definition of prayer is a form of communicating with God. In other words, conversating (having a conversation) with God. Thats it. Just as you conversate with your peers, you do the same with God when you pray. Next would be, how to pray. Who knows the Our Father Prayer? (Matthew 6:9-13) The our father prayer shows us how to pray. Now, dont just recite your prayer like an answer for a test. You need to feel your prayer; you need to know what you are saying to God. In your packet, I supplied you with information about the meaning of the prayer. While praying, always ask God for forgiveness of your sins. Those you remember and those you dont remember. Because before you can make your request to God, you have to have a clean heart. Then you began thanking God. Thank Him for waking you; thank him for guiding you through your days. Its so much we need to thank Him for, but we cannot thank Him enough. If we had 10,000 tongues thanking Him at the same time, it still would not be enough. Look at the news: killings at schools, bombing, hurricanes, floods, ect. Now once you are through thanking him, then you send your request. What ever you need Him to do for you, this is your time. Our next question is when should we pray? (All the time) 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says pray without ceasing. Lets understand this: the definition of ceasing is to stop; to come to an end. Of course we know pray means talking to God. We all know what without means. So 1 Thessalonians 5:17 is simply saying: Talk to God without stopping; Talk to God every chance you get. Dont have an idle mind. Idle meaning not working or active; doing nothing. Not thinking of God, but thinking of meaningless things. Because when you have an idle mind, you stop making time to talk to God and thats when the Devil takes this opportunity to talk to you. (Ex. Child that cant wear good clothes or the one that is too shy to talk so peers say hes stupid. But, you never know if he is not getting abused.) The final point of my discussion, praying before an attack. The word attack means to use force against, in order to harm. This is what the devil does in our lives. How does the Devil use force to harm us? How do he harm us? Here are a few examples:

1. Mental-thoughts of Suicide, thoughts of harming others. 2. Physical-physical abuse, sexual abuse 3. Emotional-Being rejected; not fitting in, being bullied or doing the bulling, Low Self Esteem; Feeling worthless. 4. Spirtual-Stop praying, stop reading your bible; having you believe God dont exist; Hes not real. Spiritually, while you are going through life physically resting at night, there is a fight against the devils tactics and evil doing. God is constantly fighting for us. This is stated in the bible: Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. The answer to fight these attacks before they come your way is to keep praying against them; Keep your mind on God. Even when you think he is not listening, keep praying. Because God already warn you in his word of the devil trying to attack us. 1 Peter 5:8 says that the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Meaning, the devil does like a lion, he hides in the grass waiting for the perfect opportunity to jump on you. In the books you have, there are different prayers that could help you, before attacks come. It is so important to prepare yourself by praying before the devil tries to attack you. 1. Pray to strengthen your relationship with God. 2. Pray for your family. Because if you are strong in God, and the devil cannot break you, hell go after your family. 3. Last but not least, pray for the whole armor of God to protect you. Ephesians 6:10-11 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devils schemes. Theres a song that says, Lord you dont have to move my mountain, but give me the strength to climb. Whatever attack the devil brings your way, is your mountain. With strength you climb it; with faith, you defeat it. But in order to do this as a preparation for an attack, you must always pray. So, Ill leave you with this: Always Talk to God, tell him about all your problems and attacks. Then, tell your problems and attacks all about God.