Category: Prayer for Battles, War, Intercession
A Warriors Plea
The Bible Calls us to Pray for Our Service Men and Women
1 Samuel 12:23, “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord for failing to pray for you.”
Who was Samuel:
Samuel was born as the result of Hannah seeking God for a child. When the child whom Hannah ask for was born, the Bible says, “She named him Samuel, because I asked the Lord for him,” (1 Samuel 1:20) According to the Word of God, Samuel was a priest and he remained steadfast in his love for the Lord. (Who’s Who in the Bible, page 581) The Bible says, “The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord… (1 Samuel 3:19-20) “Samuel was a faithful judge, who lived through the theocratic ideal, he shape Israel’s political life, unified the tribes, and victoriously fought the Philistines. (1 Samuel 7:13b-17; Who’s Who in the Bible, Page)
The Book of Ephesians tells us, “We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesian 2:10 ) Our exhortation is, what the Holy Spirit moved the Apostle Paul to write, “I urge, then first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone…” (1 Timothy 2:1) Ephesians 6:18 tells us that Christians are to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers…” All Christians who come to understand and respond to their call to pray for others have the great opportunity to go before the “Throne of Grace” (Hebrews 4:16) and intercede for their fellowman. They have on many occasions seen the truth of what James wrote, “…The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” (James 5:16)
I would propose to you that when those whose lives are in danger ask for prayer, it would be a sin to fail to pray for them. Born again Christians can take their rightful place among such giants of intercession (The Expositors Bible Commentary) as Moses, (Exodus 32;30-32) Daniel, (Daniel 9:4-20) the apostle Paul (Romans 1:9-10) and Jesus. (Romans 8:34)
Just what are the benefits in praying for those in our armed forces?
In the Word of God, we see our encouragement to pray for our armed forces as they go into battle. The Bible says, “The Amalekites came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So, Moses said to Joshua, ‘Choose for us men, and go out and fight with the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.’ So, Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, the Amalekites prevailed. But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So, his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed the Amalekites with the sword.” (Exodus 17:8-13)
Moses was Israel’s intercessory prayer warrior and his faithfulness to pray enabled Israel to be victorious over the Amalekites. Moses’ trust was not in the staff but in God’s enabling power. God in His Sovereignty calls people to their specific task, in this case Joshua and his soldiers to do physical battle. Moses, Aaron and Hur did the spiritual battle which was prayer. (Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 1, p. 61). Logos Research Systems, Inc.; Spence-Jones, H. D. M., ed. (1909). Exodus (Vol. 2, pp. 71–72). Funk & Wagnalls Company.; (Henry, M. (1994). Matthew Henry’s commentary on the whole Bible: complete and unabridged in one volume (p. 120). Hendrickson.)
When our armed forces are in harm's way, we can pray for those who are to going into battle – interceding with the God of all mankind, who does all things well.
Christians must resist that temptation of omission in prayer because they become weary of the nation’s continued descent into sin. The prophet Samuel saw the sins of the people, yet committed to pray for them because he did not want to sin against the Lord. The most influential work done for the Hebrews was the teaching of God’s Word and the prayers that came from great intercessors such as Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and King David. These powerful intercessors did not just leave the people of God to live their own course to sow as they please and reap as they had sown. They did not withdraw from their responsibility, rather interceded with all their hearts before a merciful God who could bring a people to repentance, protect them from their enemies and empower them to accomplish His perfect will.
Prayer is mightier than a king’s power of authority and more effective than a warrior’s sword. Wars are going to come and it is the responsibility of Christians to hold up their generation of soldiers in prayer which the Apostle Paul understood to be a weapon that has divine power to demolish strongholds. (2 Corinthians 10:4)
As Christians prayerfully examine the whole of Scripture they are led of the Holy Spirit to intercession. They know in their hearts that failing to pray for those who are in harm’s way, whether in fighting the spiritual or earthly battles of the Lord, is to sin. Pleasing God involves interceding for all of His works and for the people He is using to get His will done. (Matthew Henry Commentary; The Bible Readers Companion; Commentary on the Old Testament; The New American Commentary; True the Bible Commentary; The Pulpit Commentary)
I can assure you that every soldier who is facing the onslaught of our enemies’ attack would love to know that there are people of God out there who say as the apostle Paul, “God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times…” (Romans 1:9-10)
Samuel was married and had a family. (1 Samuel 12:2) He had served as priest (1 Samuel 7) and Judge (1 Samuel 7:16; Acts 13:20) and he was a prophet. (Acts 3:24) He also got involved in directly praying for military situations, in calling a nation to repentance and in giving them directions on how to live.
Jesus said, there will be war until the end of time. (Matthew 24:16; Mark 13:7) The Lord, through our government (Romans 13:1) has set days and times throughout the year to recognize and appreciate our service men and women. God, in His Word has given us a powerful ministry, praying for our Armed Forces!
How Should We Pray for Our Service Men and Woman?
• Pray that the families, relatives and friends of our military members may be strengthened in this time of concern and anxiety.
• Pray that the Lord may help families with men and women in the armed forces to cope with daily challenges in the absence of their loved ones.
• Pray for our brothers and sisters as they go forth with courage and determination to face the forces of violence, weapons of destruction and hearts filled with hate.
• Pray that in the midst of destruction, the Lord will guide our service men and women, that they may be reunited with families.
• Pray for faith, hope, and comfort for all who are waiting for their soldiers to come home.
• Pray that departing soldiers will come to Christ and that they may be faithful, daily as they trust Him in the land of danger.
• Pray that those who are married will seek the Lord for strength to be faithful to each other in this time of separation.
• Pray that the Lord will reveal His companionship, strength and wisdom to everyone serving our country.
We know God’s Hand is upon those who serve Him in battles. King David, was a commander of soldiers for God’s army. 1 Samuel we read: “Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had left Saul. So, he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns. In everything he did he had great success, because the LORD was with him. When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him. But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their campaigns.” (1 Samuel 18:12-15)
God has is hand upon those who fight the Lord’s battles, and against those who seek to do evil.
I think of Corporal William Kyle Carpenter – He is a Medal of Honor recipient for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an Automatic Rifleman with Company F, 2d Battalion, 9th Marines, Regimental Combat Team 1, 1st Marine Division (Forward), 1 Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), in Helmand Province, Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom on 21 November 2010. (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyle_Carpenter)
Corporal William Carpenter jumped on a grenade and saved his friend while in combat in Afghanistan. He was gravely injured, losing one eye and suffering a broken jaw and broken arm. The tattoo he was sporting on his side when he went into battle, however, was unchanged. (ABC News, by Collen Curry June 19, 2014)
In an interview, Corporal Carpenter said: “For me and my fellow Marines, we went fighting day in and day out. We all understood that there was a good chance that many of us were not going to make it back. We knew what we were going into.”
Corporal Kyle Carpenter was a believer and he knew he would need to rest on his faith in God. So, he had a passage of Scripture tattooed on his side, so it would always be with him. Corporal Carpenter said the tattoo which was on his side touched a lot of lives, especially the medical staff, for they were the ones ministering to him as he recovered from his wounds. For everyone was amazed, considering how much damage was done to his body, the tattoo of the Scripture was unchanged. The tattoo reads "Blessed be the Lord my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle." which is a quote from Psalm 144:1. (God and Country Military Religious Freedom and Christian Service, June 25, 2014)
Psalm 144:1 was a Psalm of King David, God’s commander and chief who had clearly been in many battles of the Lord. He knew God his Father on many occasions had his hand upon him during battles and prepared him for war. Our highest prayer is for our service men and woman, serving in our Armed Forces would have Holy Spirit revelation of God having his hands upon them. And may we be found faithful to pray for those who are in harm's way.
