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The Father's Business Podcast
The Father's Business Podcast
Stand Firm in Prayer
Have you ever felt isolated by your own past or trapped by false beliefs? Join us on The Father's Business Podcast as Kimberly and Elizabeth reflect on those very moments and share how our vulnerabilities can be ripe for spiritual attacks. This episode delves into the intricate dynamics of spiritual warfare, emphasizing the importance of understanding our personal narratives and their connection to the spiritual realm. We share practical insights and biblical strategies for overcoming attacks while preparing for the upcoming Ruach Journey Conference, inviting listeners to engage in prayer and community support. We invite you to join us in a collective prayer for divine protection and guidance for all conference attendees and leaders.
The Father's Business was founded by Sylvia Gunter to encourage people to a deeper relationship with God. I'm Elizabeth Gunter Powell.
Speaker 2:And I am Kimberly Roddy. Welcome to the Father's Business Podcast. We are so glad that you've joined us. Hi everyone, welcome to our podcast.
Speaker 2:It is almost time for our RUWOC Journey Conference. We have a beginner and advanced track. Time is very limited as far as signing up, so if you still want to join us, there may still be time depending on when you're listening to this podcast, but it is coming soon. March 5th through the 7th is our conference and for those that are coming, we are so excited. We have people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s attending this conference. We are so excited. We love being multi-generational. So come and join us. If there's time and scholarships are still available, just contact us and let us know that you're interested. Last week on our podcast, we talked about the power of living from your identity as a covenant child and the need to be aware of agreements or beliefs that we are making that cause us to live in less than that full authority as a covenant child. We talked about how each of us have a certain false belief that we are more prone to believe because of our stories, and it can lead us to living with a victim mindset.
Speaker 1:Yeah, kimberly last week was such a good reminder for me to be mindful of the false beliefs that feel true because of my story and because of places where I've experienced pain. So there's one more area I would love for us to talk about in regards to our story and false beliefs, which is spiritual warfare, and I know we've talked about it on our podcast before. There are sections of prayer portions and living in his presence that are dedicated to this topic. So there's a lot of resources you can go to to read more in depth about spiritual warfare. But as we consider our story and where we have been hurt in the past, I think we need to be mindful that the enemy knows our story and knows how to use it against us, tempting us to believe that we have no power and that we're defeated. So when it comes to spiritual warfare, I don't like to glamorize it, to give it more power than it has. I don't want people to be afraid of it, but also it's not wise to forget that we do live in the midst of a war and we do struggle against not flesh and blood, but things of the spirit and the spiritual realm. So I think it's important for everyone to take time with God and ask him to show you the themes of the narrative of your story that the enemy tries to use against you and the tactics that are in play. And for each of us that's going to be different. Against you and the tactics that are in play, and for each of us that's going to be different.
Speaker 1:I know in my life the enemy rarely will attack me at my identity because I'm pretty grounded in the fact that I'm a covenant daughter of God, I am beloved, I am his. I never doubt my faith that I've somehow lost my salvation. Those aren't the types of doubts and fears that I deal with, but I know people who do. But my themes of my story are more about how God's not going to be there for me, that the enemy is very skilled at making me feel like I'm alone, that no one is going to help me, that no one's going to be there for me. So more times than not, in the weeks leading up to something like a Rook Journey Conference where we're going to be leading, the attacks come in a form of someone in my inner circle, someone that I depend on, someone that I feel is usually there for me, whether that's my husband, one of our children, a close friend, another family member.
Speaker 1:Somewhere in those relationships there starts a conflict and an argument springs up out of nowhere that kind of takes me by surprise. Or there's a crisis in one of their lives and I feel like God is not showing up for me in some way. So either I feel let down in a human relationship or I feel that God is not there for me down in a human relationship, or I feel that God is not there for me. And so, even though I'm aware of that and even though I know we got a conference coming up in two weeks, I'm not going to be surprised if something tries to take me out as we get ready along those themes right. So I would say I'm not at a point in my growth as a Christian where I'm never affected by the attacks of the enemy, and I really don't know that this side of heaven any of us will ever get there.
Speaker 1:But what I am happy for is that I am quicker to realize what's going on, that the person in front of me is not the enemy, that we do have an enemy, but he is just trying to pit us against each other. I'm able to stop in the moment and recenter myself in Father, son and Holy Spirit, take a deep breath and, as Ephesians 6 tells us, put on the armor. And after I've done all of that, I've done everything to stand, then stand, as it says in Ephesians 6. And so, for me, victory is the time it takes from the blow up in the relationship or the crisis happening where I'm feeling like it's up to me to fix it, to me returning to standing firm in who God is and who I am in him is shorter, and so it's because I've taken the time to understand this is the typical pattern that I'm able to do that. What about you, kimberly?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I totally get that, Elizabeth. I think that typically for me the attack typically comes in. Like I shared last week, I often will question and make agreements about the goodness of God, and I'm a pretty hyper responsible person and so sometimes I feel like I'm someone's not showing, like God's not showing up for me, and that often does in a different way, that slightly different way from you than you. It does come in the form of relationships, and I think that's the skill of the enemy is he's going to go after the places that hurt us the most Sure, and so it is often an attack on the places where I'm supposed to be responsible. And then I all of a sudden the attack comes and I feel like I'm not responsible and I'm not good.
Speaker 2:But it also can come in in the place of friendships and other relationships where, like you said, the conflict happens and it just throws you off kilter. Yeah, because you know you're out of balance, you don't want to be in conflict and you can't seem to gather it back together. And in those situations it's like come on God, like why is this happening? Sometimes I'll go into blaming myself, sometimes I'll go into blaming others and sometimes I go into just blaming, like God, you're not good enough to care for me in the midst of everything I have going on. It's that victim woe is me kind of mindset. So I think it's similar for us in those ways, and I think this happens to a lot of people.
Speaker 1:You know, kimberly, as you're talking, I'm realizing I'm kind of putting two and two together and getting four. We both talk about how the conflict comes in relationships, and then there's the questioning of God, whatever, and I immediately was like well, let's go back to Adam and Eve in the garden. The enemy comes and he tempts Eve, and then Adam and Eve turn on each other and then they also turn on God, you know. And so I think this is there's nothing new under the sun, as we know. But I think a lot of times the enemy is going to use relationships as a way. It is always for me more hurtful if the attack comes through a relationship with someone else rather than if the attack comes directly at me. Does that make sense?
Speaker 2:It does, and I think it also. You see the fallen creation there too, like it's circumstances that we can't always control. That get chaotic, if that makes sense. Yeah, totally. So in the midst of all of that, elizabeth, how do you pray when you feel like all that stuff is going on to fight against it?
Speaker 1:My bottom line prayer for any type of spiritual warfare that I might be facing comes out of Jude, and it actually is a very pretty stern warning that comes in Jude and then, thankfully, god gives us the solution right there in the same verses. If you read Jude 7 through 10, it says the very same way. On the strength of their dreams, these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander, but said the Lord rebuke you. Yet these people slander whatever. They do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct, as irrational animals do, will destroy them. Now there's a lot of words in there and to boil that down to more everyday, practical language, what they're talking about here and the warning that was given to me many, many years ago and I needed it because I think as a young believer, I was like I can tell the devil where to go and I can do this and kind of the sharpshooter on the wild, wild west of spiritual warfare and want to bind this and claim that and all those types of different things and I've become a little more wise in those areas. Because, as these verses are talking about, they're talking about how they heap abuse on celestial beings. They are slandering things that they do not fully understand. There is a mighty spiritual battle going on that is far bigger than your life or mine, kimberly, and we're just players in the game, almost like as we get a sneak peek of that in the life of Job, when the enemy comes to God and says he only worships you because you give him everything, and God says, okay, you can take everything from him except for his life, and let's see what happens. So there's a much bigger story being played than we fully understand, and if we are cavalier in the way that we approach these types of situations, we're going to end up causing backlash to come on ourselves because we overstep our authority, we overstep our boundaries, and that just kind of opens the door for the attack to come back on us.
Speaker 1:So the solution is right there in verse 9, where it says that even the archangel Michael, who was on assignment from the Lord to do something, he didn't even dare condemn the enemy for slander, but instead he said the Lord, rebuke you. So as I'm praying, I ask for God to push back anything that's coming against me, if it's happening in my life or if, kimberly, it's your life or other friends' lives. Push back anything that is not of God, because not everything that goes wrong in my life is also spiritual warfare. Sometimes God puts some grace-growing moments in my life in order for me to learn to trust Him more. So I don't want to short-circuit what God may be up to, but I want to push back anything that is not of God.
Speaker 1:That is the attack of the enemy. And I say to all those things the Lord, rebuke you. And that way it takes me out of the seat of judge and jury, of trying to determine what is God and what is not. What is an attack of the enemy, what is not? And it also puts me in a very protective place of I am saying the Lord, rebuke you and let God deal with you, because I'm under the blood of Jesus and I'm his beloved, and so Jesus has died for all of this, and so I'm going to let you, father, son and Holy Spirit, take care of what's coming up against me, which kind of goes back to that principle of standing firm so often in scriptures we talked about on our Spiritual Warfare podcast. Our role is not to fight in the way that we think of fighting. Our role is to fight by just standing firm and letting God do what God needs to do.
Speaker 2:So, elizabeth, I think there's a lot of power in that phrase the Lord rebuke you. One is it's biblical and we see it in scripture, and two, I think there's just it's simple. It's not us mustering up some magic or whatever it is. The Lord must rebuke that, he must do that work, and we have the authority to call on him, to ask him to do that. So we are also in the like.
Speaker 2:One of the things we were talking about earlier is where we have this conference coming up in two weeks pattern. That, in preparation for a conference, whether you're attending it or you're speaking and leading at it, that there is some enemy attack. Yeah, absolutely, and so I think it would be really great to invite our audience to pray for us, because we love ministering to you and we know that you pray for us. We get many emails with people letting us know that they're praying for us, but I think we would specifically like to ask you to be praying for us now as we prepare for this conference and for all of our leaders, and I know, elizabeth, you have a passage of scripture that's really helpful when we're praying specifically for us as we prepare for the conference and things like that. So would you want?
Speaker 1:to share some of that with us Absolutely. And you know we we cover prayer so much and we would so love for our father's business family to join us in praying not only for us but all those in attendance, because we know God's already at work in the lives of all these people and we're going to be with them for three days, which we believe God is going to do great things while we're there, but then God is also going to continue to work in their lives after they leave. And that's a lot of reason why we call it Ruach journey, is we just kind of step in for a couple of days and help along the way of the journey that everyone is on in their own personal relationship with Father, son and Holy Spirit. And so there is a passage that we have prayed in the past as we have prepared for Ruach and not everyone, but sometimes we do, and for this one in particular. It just keeps coming back up and I just you know it's kind of those things where you just keep getting. You look on social media even, and someone's posted the verse there Like it just keeps echoing around my life.
Speaker 1:And so I just want to read it from Isaiah 43, verses one through seven, and this is really, I believe, god's heart and our heart, for everyone who is attending and also helping to lead rock. It says but now this is what the Lord says, he who created you, jacob, he who formed you, israel. Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, I have summoned you by name and you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze, for I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt for your ransom, cush and Saba in your stead, since you are precious and honored in my sight and because I love you. I will give people in exchange for you and nations in exchange for your life. So do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, give them up, and to the south, do not hold them back. Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, who I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.
Speaker 1:And so, as we have been praying for months over this conference and asking God to move, my bottom line prayer has been God, would you call your sons and daughters that you loved and formed and made for your glory, to come to meet with you, and anything that's trying to hold them back, even those that have already signed up. There's always something that comes up last minute and you get that feeling of, oh, I should cancel, I don't need to go to this conference, kind of feeling. So anything that's trying to hold them back, just repeating the words of verse six, give them up and don't hold them back. And then I add on to that the verses that we just said from Jude, which is the Lord rebuke you to anything causing any of your sons or daughters not to be able to join who are supposed to be there, because God already knows, like God knew before. We even knew when we were going to have it and the dates and all the different things that we put into place. God already knew the names of every single person that was supposed to join us for this conference. He already knows what he's going to speak into their lives, and so our job is just to join in with where he is.
Speaker 1:And so I've been praying, since we set the dates for this conference, that from, as the verse says, bring your children from your east, gather them from the west.
Speaker 1:Say to the north, give them up and to the south, don't hold them back.
Speaker 1:And it's kind of fun to watch all the different locations where people are coming from north, south, east and west to join us in Maryland for this conference.
Speaker 1:And so we would love just to spend a little time praying for the conference coming up, and, just as we have prayed for North Carolina and we've prayed for the shootings in Nashville and other events that have happened around our country, we would love for you to join us in a time of prayer as we pray for this upcoming conference.
Speaker 1:And then we would love for you to continue to either come back and listen to this podcast again and pray with us some more, or pray on your own for us. And if any of you would be interested in a specific intercessory assignment for this conference, one of the things we do, because we believe prayer is so important and vital to anything that God wants to do, is everyone coming to this conference, as well as our leadership team, we have an intercessor assigned to pray for them specifically, before, during and after the conference. All they're given is first names, so everything is confidential. But if you would like to be one of those intercessors praying for one person specifically, you can email us at info at thefathersbusinesscom and tell us I'd love to be an intercessor and we will gladly sign you up and assign you someone that you can be praying for during this conference.
Speaker 2:So we're going to spend some time together praying, and we ask you to join in with us. God, we pray for those that are attending this conference. We pray that you would be preparing the way with ease for them to get there. Lord, we pray that you would be over the roads, in the sky and on the ground as they fly and as they drive, or that you would be the one who protects them. God, we ask that you would allow them to come and show up and be fully present. Pray that you would, as we said, that you would push back the distractions. We pray that, as they prepare their hearts to come, Lord, that you would be doing a mighty work in the depths of their soul and spirit right now to prepare them for what they're going to hear and receive from you.
Speaker 1:Father, we know that every attendee coming represents a family, represents community, represents businesses, like there's so many different connections of things that everyone has to leave behind and real and serious responsibilities. And so, father, for everything that concerns them, for every care that they have, you say for us to cast our cares upon you because you care for us. And so, for all of the things, both big and small, that are the things running on their minds as they think about leaving home for several days, god, I ask that you would show up and show yourself faithful and good and strong, that you would show that you are going up before them and preparing the way, that you would make the way smooth for them as they make their way to Maryland. And, father, I'm praying for you to go ahead and begin speaking to their spirit, souls and body. I'm praying for you to go ahead and begin speaking to their spirit, souls and body, and I just pray, holy Spirit, come, would you come and descend upon them so that they can connect to you, spirit to spirit, as deep calls out to deep, that you would already be speaking the words of life that you long for them to hear from you, and I pray that they would come into perfect alignment with you, father, son and Holy Spirit, and that they would sense, at a deeper place than they ever have before, just the profound love that you have for them and, as we just read in Isaiah, that you have formed them, that you love them, that you delight in them and that you will carry them through whatever it is that they're going through.
Speaker 1:And so, father, we pray that also for our leaders. As our leaders are giving up a week of their life to come and be with us, father, I pray that you would pour back into them a hundredfold for everything that they give away, that you would prepare their hearts as many of them will also be speaking at this conference, that you would anoint their lips with your words, that you would speak to them in the night. Watches whisper in their ear the words of life that you want them to share with those that are going to be a part of our conference. And, father, as to anything coming against our attendees or our leaders, we just want to join together in unity and say the Lord, rebuke you and push back to the extent of our holy authority. Everything that you want pushed back. Any harassment of any level be pushed back from our leaders and from those in attendance, because King Jesus is here and he is sitting on his throne and he is the one who has all power forever and ever.
Speaker 2:God, we pray that our leaders would know that you have called them for this season, to speak, to be your voice, to be your hands and feet that minister to others, to speak, to be your voice, to be your hands and feet, that minister to others. But I pray that they would have a sense of strength and humility and courage all at the same time. Pray that they would be reminded that you are protecting them, that you have redeemed them, that you have called them them and that they are yours. No-transcript for the people of this conference, for those that are attending. Their heart is to serve you because they have been impacted, and so I pray, god, that as they serve, that they would continue to be impacted by the power of your word, of your truth and by your spirit as they minister.
Speaker 2:Lord, I pray that, as all attendees and leaders come together, lord, I pray that there would be a spirit of unity among us, that there would be no division, no quarreling, no spirit of quarreling, that we would just all so be delighted to be present with one another and with you and with you. So, lord, would you draw our hearts together. So much of this message that we're coming to bring together at Ruach is the fact that you are Father, son and Spirit, and I pray that, as you are one, that you would make us one as we come together with our bodies and our spirits and our souls to learn more and to bring ourselves into alignment, to follow you and to walk with you and to walk alongside others. I pray that you would help us all, give us all continued ears and hearts and eyes of understanding as we study the gifts, as we study the diversity among us, even as we celebrate the differences, that we would be one of one spirit, of one body. So may you unify us as we worship you and as we learn from you.
Speaker 1:Father, we pray for the Sandy Cove Ministry Center and all of the staff there that are going to be a part of serving us and serving those that are attending Ruach. Father, that you would use us to be a blessing to them. And, father, that you would, even now, be preparing the place for all of the logistical details that have to come together to make a conference happen, for all the flights that need to land on time, for all the traffic that needs to be avoided, the many, many things there's a thousand details that we could rattle off here that have to come together so that we can provide a respite, we can a place to, as it used to say. It said in the New Testament that Jesus used to slip away to spend time with his Father. I thank you for Sandy Cove and the beauty of the nature of it, for the peace that we feel when we're there and the ability that you're going to give us to slip away with you. And I thank you, father, that you're already there. You're already present at the Conference Center, you're present in each of our homes, you're present with us as we travel there and you are delighted to greet us as we come to the Sandy Cove Ministry Center. So we just ask for you to bring all things, all time, timing and seasons, everything from the highest of the atmosphere all the way down to the deepest core of the earth. That you would bring all things under your control and power and under the alignment of Father, son and Holy Spirit, so that we can have the best place to receive from you, to enjoy you, to worship you, to glorify you and to grow in our understanding of who you are and who we are in you.
Speaker 2:God, we pray for those that will be working at Sandy Cove, for our coordinators, our directors, for those that are going to be cooking, for those that are going to be cleaning, for those that are going to be helping us to register all of the employees at the conference center.
Speaker 2:Lord, would you allow us to be a blessing to them, as they are blessing us. They are blessing us by cooking for us and cleaning for us and hosting us at this place that has hosted so much ministry over the years. And, Lord, I pray that we would be able to be aware and pay attention and be alert enough to also bless them. And, God, we also pray for all the logistics of what goes into this conference, from getting all the supplies there to showing up Again, like Elizabeth said prayed a few minutes ago being able to bring all of the planes and the cars into alignment and to order. And you are the God of order. You bring order to chaos and so, Lord, we pray that you would prepare the way, prepare the buildings, prepare the people, God, that your hand of order would be over everything and that you would help it all run with great smoothness and ease and flow.
Speaker 1:And, Father, I pray specifically against fear. I know that there's been a lot of reports of late about airlines crashing and there's just a level of hesitation and fear for those that may be flying of. Just you know, 99% of the time everything's fine, but you give us a spirit of your love and your care and your concern and your protection over us. And so, Father, wherever the enemy may be speaking false beliefs of any kind in the ears of leaders and attendees, we are asking for your voice to be louder, that your voice of love, your voice of peace, of joy, of goodness, of kindness, of gentleness, faithfulness and self-control, that all the fruit of your spirit would be screaming so loud that it would drown out any other voices that are trying to speak into the ears and the hearts and the minds of all those that will be attending and those that will be leading. And we just thank you in advance.
Speaker 1:God, you're going to do great things.
Speaker 1:You always do, not because of us and because of what we do, but you always show up, and you, I mean. We have story after story of the incredible ways you have spoken to your children in ways that we could not have possibly imagined. And you know. You know the hairs on all of our heads. You know every part of our story, God. You even know the parts of our story that we'd like to bury or deny or pretend aren't there, and you know how to weave your redemption through every single chapter of it. And so we thank you that, as we come out of this conference, we will know you better, that as we come out of this conference, we will know you better, we will love you more and we will understand the depths of how much you love us on an even deeper level. And so we just pray Father, your kingdom come, your will be done at this Ruach as in heaven on earth, and thank you for all that you're going to do in the hearts and the minds of men and women as we gather together.
Speaker 2:Now to him, who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us. To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Amen. Thank you for joining us today and for praying with us. Thank you for praying for us as we leave this conversation. If you want to know more about spiritual warfare, we had a wonderful conversation with Sylvia Gunter back on November 7th of 2022, where we discussed spiritual warfare. So go back and check out that podcast episode to learn more, and we look forward to being with you next time.
Speaker 1:I want to thank you for listening to the Father's Business Podcast. I want to thank you for listening to the Father's Business Podcast. This podcast is made possible through donations by people like you. To donate, go to wwwTheFathersBusinesscom. No-transcript.
