SUBDUING PRAYER

Sub·due

/səbˈd(y)o͞o/

verb

verb: subdue; 3rd person present: subdues; past tense: subdued; past participle: subdued; present participle: subduing

1. overcome, quieten, or bring under control (a feeling or person).

 

Subduing “Prayer” is…

The intentional daily/weekly practice of praying a “subduing position” over the most vulnerable areas of your life that the enemy would use to attack you and establish “Ungodly Strongholds.” (ie family, spouse, children, work/ministry and  colleagues, school, financial goals, health, character weaknesses etc.).

This kind of prayer is strategic and an offensive form of spiritual warfare.  Subduing Prayer focuses on maintaining power and dominion in significant areas of your life in behalf of the will and purpose of God.  Its role is to keep all critical borders secure and spiritually well intact.  Subduing Prayer is intent on inhibiting the enemy from prospering in his effort to influence the circumstances and individuals most near and dear to you in an assignment to thwart the plans God has for you.  Realize, your greatest distraction in accomplishing the will of God in your life will be YOU and those close to you. When you consider the effectual role that Subduing Prayer could play in your life, it becomes easy to understand why Jesus commanded us to “love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.  Granted this may not be a big deal if it’s a stranger on the street, however, when it is your spouse, your parent, siblings, and other close family members, your children, your boss or co-workers, your pastor, fellow church members etc., these are people you do life with and when something breaks down with them…everything in your world will be impacted and you could feel like your world is falling apart.  Subduing Prayer is a discipline that keeps these borders safe, secure and strong.

Matt. 5:43-48

Love for Enemies

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor^[a] and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

 

Subduing Prayer encourages us to stand on guard and alert with a focus on our “Spiritual Borders” as a prayer practice.  When we take this prayer stance for the significant things in our life, prayer is not offered with an intent to gain or personally get something from God, it is not defensive as one under attack, it is not vindictive as one who has been wounded but rather, it is “authoritative,” self-controlled, preventive and intentional in ordering ALL things (starting with self) to align with the kingdom of God.

Subduing prayer is a “Prayer Practice” and purposed to SUBDUE and maintain DOMINION in your life both in the heavenlies and on earth.  Celebrate if you have an intercessory prayer partner whom you can stand in agreement with (friend, spouse, family members)…because this is even better!  Subduing prayer is essentially establishing “Godly Strongholds” in your life that align to the will and purposes of God…something every believer should have in place. What is a Godly Stronghold?  Well, I’m glad you asked.

 

Today a walled city is mostly outdated.  Modern warfare has made the walls useless.  Airplanes have taken away any advantage the walls can provide.  However, even before aircraft, the development of the cannon demonstrated the days of walled cities were limited. Cannons allowed attackers to pulverize walls with artillery, causing the walls to crumble. Artillery also shocked the inhabitants inside the walls, who never faced anything like it before.  The smashing artillery caused a quick surrender of its inhabitants; therefore, the cannon caused the walled stronghold to cease.

In history, strongholds played a vital role. No army could successfully defeat an opponent and let their stronghold stand within conquered territory.  One of the main objectives of armies was to remove strongholds within a conquered territory.  We as the Lord’s army need to take notice, of the objective to remove strongholds. Like conquerors of old, we need to target the spiritual strongholds of our enemy, Satan.  We need to replace these strongholds with the strongholds of God.

 

Start NOW practicing Subduing Prayer.  Incorporate it in your life as your daily or weekly prayer practice.  This prayer practice will help to keep your heart, mind, and spirit aligned with God’s word.  Consequently, it will position you to hear God’s voice more clearly, hunger after His word and lovingly submit to His will as the Holy Spirit convicts, comforts, counsels, and guides you into all truth (John 41:26, 16:13).  Secondly, Subduing Prayer will help you recognize more biblically the power in Christ Jesus you have been given to walk in.  I assure you, when you truly discover this, you will no longer take defeat lying down.

Third, Subduing Prayer identifies your vulnerabilities not just internally but also externally.  You are vulnerable with those you love, you are vulnerable with the things you value, you are vulnerable to the things that make you feel secure.  Therefore, if these things break down or offend you, you will most likely shut down…mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  This could be termed a MASS ATTACK because the overall effects are devastating if just one of these areas are affected. So, when you are aware what your vulnerable areas are and commit them to be defined and disciplined by the wisdom and truth of God’s word, they are no longer vulnerable but instead made strong and resilient in the power of God.  Better to be stretched and matured by the discipleship hand of God than to be maliciously manipulated, bamboozled or beaten down by a liar, fool and enemy of our Savior Jesus Christ…(SATAN).  There is no doubt, if you live long enough, life will throw you a few curve balls. However, when you practice Subduing Prayer, you will be ready for it with a bold, confident and courageous spirit.

Fourth, Subduing Prayer will bring you into the awareness that your REAL world is much smaller than the country, city or community you live in.  Your world, throughout all your life, will always consist of and be defined by the people, relationships, and environments both geographical and social, and I would even include all forms of media that you choose to encompass your life.  This is the world that most greatly influence you and it will impact how you think, live, experience and literally define your life.  Realize, your REAL world is quite small and you have much more control over it than you realize.

The enemy works within this small arena strategically and consistently with an intentional effort to kill, steal and destroy everything God desires for you and this includes His plans that you are aware of and also, the plans you are NOT aware of.  When we gain a confident, godly, spiritual perspective about our immediate world, only then will we no longer live in fear about the rest of the world around us.  What is important for you to realize is that securing the areas in your life that are most vulnerable with the power and wisdom of God, will fully equip you to journey life as a conqueror in ALL seasons of life…and you can take that to God’s spiritual BANK!

Is. 54:17

 No weapon formed against you shall prosper,
And every tongue which rises against you in judgment
You shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord,
And their righteousness is from Me,”
Says the Lord.

 

Subduing Prayer is something you can put into practice any time. This simple outline will help you get started.

As you complete each category, you should be prayerfully honest and meditative about what you write down. This is a time with you and God to focus on strengthening the spiritual borders of your life so don’t take this exercise for granted.

Begin by making a list with the following 7 categories.

• Me (list by name personal character, heart and spiritual related challenges)
• Health (include current issues and any preventive measures taken pertaining to you and those dear to you)
• Family Members (list by name)
• Dear Friends (list by name, include those you are growing close to as well)
• Work/Ministry (included all significant relationships)
• Finances (include debts, incomes, and savings)
• Goals (name 3 immediate goals limiting the details)

Now, as a part of your daily/weekly prayer time, pray this list.  If you want to really be effective, pray authoritatively by attaching 2-3 scriptures to each category as a banner of God’s truth over these items.  You can pray for each category all at one time or you can spread them throughout the week (recommended).  If you are someone who struggles with prayer or what to pray about, this is your answer!  Praying throughout the week causes you to establish a regular prayer discipline, memorize scripture, remain mindful of the vulnerable areas in your life and remain alert to what God is speaking to you about them. It will also keep you alert as to how the enemy is working on them…oh so subtlety.

Should these areas experience crisis or irritation, I encourage you not to take these assaults personal but rather, subdue them with love, peace and the power of God through the directives of His word.  This consistent, weekly prayer practice will position you to extinguish all the fiery darts of the enemy and live abundantly in God’s Kingdom both in heaven and on earth.

Eph. 6:16

In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

 

As you learn and grow with this exercise, use a journal to chronical your experience and what you are understanding about God, yourself, your enemy and exactly how he uses you, and other people and circumstances around you, solely to keep you from growing into your full potential in Christ.  This spiritual authority does not happen overnight but will most assuredly happen in time and thankfully it won’t take long to notice growth and signs of your power in God “Hallelujah!”