August 1, 2026

The Weapon of Prayer 

The Preacher's Cry -- Pray for Us! 

Part of our commitment as Christians is praying not only for ourselves and our families, but also for our preacher and those spreading the gospel of Jesus. Much like Aaron and Hur holding up the arms of Moses during the war with Amalek, we need to stand with our pastor and hold him up with our prayers as he faces the daily challenges of the enemy who comes after him hard, trying to impede the word of the gospel from being preached. What if God holds us responsible for the problems our pastor faces merely for not holding him up in prayer? 

Many people are compelled to ask, “What is God’s purpose for me?” Until you figure that out, your purpose is to stay fervent in prayer for those involved in the ministry of the gospel. However, praying doesn’t end, and it’s something you can do even if all of your abilities are diminished; as long as your mind is still strong, you can pray. You don’t have to use fancy words, and sometimes there aren’t even words to express our heart, but seeking God and crying to Him without utterance of intelligible words is still prayer. Sometimes it feels we aren’t making a difference; however, when our prayers are met with the prayers of others, the impact is stronger in the spiritual realm. The more people that pray, the stronger the fight against the realm of darkness.

“That the true apostolic preacher must have the prayers of others-good people to give to his ministry its full quota of success, Paul is a preeminent example. He asks, he covets, he pleads in an impassionate way for the help of all God’s saints, He knew that in the spiritual realm as elsewhere, in union there is strength; that the consecration and aggregation of faith, desire, and prayer increased the volume of spiritual force until it became overwhelming and irresistible in its power. Units of prayer combined, like drops of water, make an ocean that defies resistance”—E. M. Bounds.

Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; Romans 15:30

July 31, 2026

The Weapon of Prayer 

Prayer-Equipment for Preachers

When you read the heading of this chapter, you get the impression that it is only for preachers, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Two very important things came from this chapter that got to my heart: 

1. Not praying tells God you do not need Him! “Not to pray is not only to declare there is nothing needed, but to admit to a non-realization of that need. This is what aggravates the sin of prayerlessness. It represents an attempt at instituting an independence of God, a self-sufficient ruling of God out of the life. It is a declaration made to God that we do not need Him, and hence do not pray to Him.” E.M. Bounds
2. If you don’t pray for your preacher, you become a stumbling block to his message reaching the heart of the unsaved. “Non-praying officials stood in the way of the Word preached, and became veritable stumbling blocks in the way of the Word, definitely preventing its reaching the hearts of the unsaved.” E.M. Bounds 

The Holy Spirit and prayers of the people are what equip your preacher. If a preacher is not prayerful and anointed by the Holy Spirit, he binds himself and his message will fall flat. However, if the people in the pews aren’t praying for the message, then they become part of the reason his message has no life. If you are sitting in church and think being there is all about you, then you misunderstand your power and need to confess. Even though you are in training, we all are; others are sitting in the same congregation who need the Savior, and not praying for the anointing on your preacher makes you part of the problem rather than part of the solution for the truth being delivered. 

If you feel like this message is harsh, remember: Jesus didn’t hold back or handle people delicately; he gave them the truth whether it hurt their feelings or not.

Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you: 2 Thessalonians 3:1

July 30, 2026

The Weapon of Prayer 

Prayerlessness in the Pulpit 

"Talking to men for God may be a great thing, and may be very commendable. But talking to God for men is far more valuable and commendable." E.M. Bounds

Most of us don't have a pulpit to spread the word of God, but one thing you can be sure of is that a preacher who prays will have an anointing on his sermon. It took my husband and me nearly 25 years to find a church that we fit in; we finally found our family and are happily settled there. At the time, we didn't know what we were looking for, but after nearly four years there, we've figured it out: they pray. The church is open for prayer every Wednesday. People come and share their thankfulness and then unburden themselves by asking for help praying for their needs. When Sunday service rolls around, and people's hearts have been offering prayers all week for their fellow believers, they are tender and ready to receive a good word from the pulpit. It doesn't stop there; our pastor will share the most needful prayers with the congregation so we can continue reaching out to God on their behalf. 

Our church went through a rough time for several months, and if we hadn't been a praying church, the people may have fallen away as many did. When the enemy comes in, the sheep scatter, except for the ones protected by the enclosure. The people remaining are those whose hearts are truly bent towards Jesus. It wasn't the preaching that scattered the sheep; it was an enemy within, sent to cause discourse and division. However, the weak were culled, and now our congregation is stronger than ever and adding to our numbers weakly; it's like the enemy was never there. That's how God separates the wheat from the tares and those who pray from those who don't. What's left is the cream of the crop!

Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 2:3

If you haven't found your church and are looking, consider attending one that prays; you won't be sorry. If you happen to live in the Tampa area, you might consider attending my church; it feels like home. I'll leave a link in the comments to our YouTube channel so you can watch a few sermons. 

If you are a weirdo stalker, just know that my husband and I, and many of our parishioners, are not only dressed in the armor of God, but also with physical armament.

Click on the live tab to watch previous sermons.

https://youtube.com/@brandonbaptisttabernacle?si=jpQdiqaEgEyZygvU 

July 29, 2026

The Weapon of Prayer

The Ministry and Prayer 

Jesus is our example when it comes to prayer. Rather than teaching his disciples how to preach, he taught them how to pray. If they learned to express themselves to God, they would be able to teach others. Jesus taught them to always reach out to God in prayer by praying to Him himself.  

“While Jesus Christ practiced praying Himself, being personally under the law of prayer, and while His parables and miracles were but exponents of prayer, He labored directly to teach His disciples the specific art of praying. He said little or nothing about how to preach or what to preach.” E.M. Bounds

David was constantly in prayer, and many of his prayers are expressed through the Psalms, which we know were influenced by the Holy Spirit because, as he prayed for himself, he gave us the manuscript for the crucifixion in the words of Psalm 22.

In this chapter of The Weapon of Prayer, E.M. Bounds, emphasizes the importance of a praying preacher, however, most of us do not stand in the pulpit, but do have the responsibility to carry out the great commission, so we must also follow the way of Jesus in his ministry and be constant in prayer, opening up to the Father, so that we may also learn to speak to others by talking to Him.  

Here is my advice on the best way to learn to pray: begin by praying the scriptures. Open up Psalms; there are many useful prayers in there. If you’re at war, start with Psalms 91. If you need a daily prayer, pray the Lord’s Prayer. Use God’s words to pray. Soon, you will learn the lingo and begin speaking to Him on your own. Start with praise, then offer thanksgiving, and then ask for what you need. The point is to reach out to God for everything; He’s the One who provides for you anyway, so you may as well express yourself to Him. 

The picture is of the moon early this morning.

July 28, 2026

The Weapon of Prayer 

Praying Men at a Premium

And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Luke 18:1

In the parable of the persistent widow, Jesus told the people that because she was persistent in prayer, she would be avenged. 

And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? Luke 18:7

“A breed of Christian is greatly needed who will seek tirelessly after God,-who will give Him no rest, day and night, until He hearken to their cry.” E.M. Bounds

I don’t think we realize how important it is to seek God through prayer; it tends to be something we don’t emphasize enough, but it is a major part of our walk with Jesus. When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, his disciples were so close, and even though Jesus had asked them to stay awake to help strengthen him, they chose sleep over praying for him in his hour of need. 

We don’t have to be lengthy in praying; we can get to our point, but it must be heartfelt. You may not realize this, but divine revelation is often found in the words of our prayers. I’ve encountered God when He revealed the answer to my prayer through my prayer. Has that ever happened to you? Sometimes the answer comes before you ask it. Stay fervent in prayer; God wants to hear from you and is moved by your prayer. 

I’m giving you highlights from this book, but what I share is only a fraction of its incredible content. You can read it free online https://www.ccel.org/ccel/bounds/weapon 

July 27, 2026

The Weapon of Prayer

Prayerless Christians

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 1 Timothy 2:1-2

Even though most people feel like prayer doesn’t belong in a business setting, that thought couldn’t be further from the truth. As followers of Christ, everything we do should be centered around God and opening up to Him in prayer concerning every aspect of our lives; not limited to our personal life but also our work life. 

“The sanctity of prayer is needed to impregnate business. We need the spirit of Sunday carried over to Monday and continued until Saturday.” E.M. Bounds

Many aspects go into becoming financially secure, but including God in your business through praying is essential. Your success depends solely on Him and you trusting Him with your business. However, what God sees as success may be different than what we see. He wants to fill His kingdom with people who want to worship and honor Him, so make sure you include that as part of your business model. If you own a business, you are in charge. You can include people who are of the world, or you can include fellow Christians; you make that determination, but if you surround yourself with praying people, you and everyone in your business will be prosperous.

July 26, 2026

The Weapon of Prayer

God's Need of Men Who Pray

A caveat: "God's Need of Men Who Pray" is the title of the next chapter in E.M. Bounds' book, "The Weapon of Prayer." God doesn't need men for anything; He existed before us and always will exist. Since I'm covering this book, I thought I would use his chapter titles as my headings. Remember: eat the meat and spit out the bones. 

"Every man can pray, and every man should pray. But when it comes to the affairs of the Kingdom, let it be said, at once, that a prayerless man in the Church of God is like a paralyzed organ of the physical body." E.M. Bounds 

God created people to glorify Him. He wants us to love Him and to love others. To love Him is to pray to Him worshipfully, and the best way for us to love others is to pray for them. People who pray are the ones who help further the kingdom of God, which is probably why Mr. Bounds used such a title; it definitely caught my attention. 

Sidetrack:

Though we are Protestant, too many of our ways are still wrapped up in Roman Catholicism. Was Rome truly defeated? I don't think so. We are just a sect of the Roman Catholic Church, and we were given different views yet staying similar. I agree that we need to surround ourselves with other believers, and right now, the church is the best way to do that, but too much of our worship is purely ritualistic; the building is considered sacred, and sometimes we show up purely out of obligation or habit. How else are we supposed to be? I don't know, but our way of worshipping looks nothing like what Jesus taught. We are supposed to worship Him in Spirit and truth. Are we being true and full of the Spirit if we feel obligated to participate in the ritual? 

If you are not praying and worshipping God daily, then you are not walking in the way of Jesus. Church is a way to connect with other believers and worship God together. The rest of it is purely ritualistic. Meeting and hashing out the scriptures together, as the disciples did, is a much better way to learn, but that's not how the church works today. I'm not sure how we can fix it since it's been like this for a very long time. At the very least, make sure you are praying and worshipping God daily.

July 25, 2026

The Weapon of Prayer

The Necessity of Praying Men

“The Holy Spirit never descends upon prayerless men. He never fills them, He never empowers them. There is nothing whatever in common between the Spirit of God and men who do not pray. The Spirit dwells only in a prayer atmosphere.” E.M. Bounds

I’m not sure if what he says is completely true, but it certainly makes you think. However, it does make sense that if you are not reaching out to God in prayer and cultivating a relationship with him, you may not even have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. How can you have a relationship with someone you do not talk to? Jesus was our example; he prayed and kept up his relationship with the Father while he existed on earth. Jesus promised that if you love him and keep his commandments, he will give you the Holy Spirit to be with you forever. You may not have to pray to become saved, but the Holy Spirit is the one who prompts you to pray, and praying is one of the proofs of your salvation, and you only get him if you are saved.

If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; John 14:15-16

I sorted out the words of Mr. Bounds for you today and dug into the scriptures to confirm whether they were true or not, and it seems like he took some liberty and went slightly beyond the scriptures. Even though what he said seems trustworthy, we must verify what he and others say, and make sure their words are backed by scripture. The only way to do that is to diligently sort through the scriptures and extract the truth from God’s Word. 

July 24, 2026

The Weapon of Prayer

Putting God to Work

You heard it said that our prayers move God; it’s true. You pray, and God gets to work orchestrating a plan to answer it. Think about that for a minute and imagine the Almighty God, Creator of heaven and earth, wants nothing more than to hear from us and is willing to do our bidding and intervene in the affairs of people. Just the thought of that amazes me. In the same way, praying puts God to work; not praying prevents Him from working. Not including God in our lives by notpraying to Him excludes Him! If that thought doesn’t hit you hard, you might need to improve your relationship with him; praying is the way to do that.

We are so well loved that because we trust God for an answer, our prayers affect three spheres of influence: the divine, angelic, and human. God hears our ramblings and gets to work, commands His angels on our behalf, and uses humans to physically work out an answer even though our prayers are, at times, incoherent. Even if something seems minuscule, and you don’t think it’s worthy to reach out to God for, say it anyway; you never know if that tiny detail might be a step in the answer to someone else’s prayer. 

“So that prayer in itself does not interfere in earth’s affairs, but prayer in the hands of men moves God to intervene and do things, which He would not otherwise do if prayer was not used as the instrument.” E.M. Bounds

For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him. Isaiah 64:4

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. 2 Chronicles 7:14-15

July 23, 2026

For the next twelve days, I will be reading a book called The Weapon of Prayer by E. M. Bounds, published in 1931. I think we could all use training on this subject. I’ll give you the highlights of what I think are the essentials from each chapter. I’ve provided a link to the free book in the comments.

The Weapon of Prayer 

Prayer Essential to God 

A couple of things we need to understand are that God rules the world and that keeping up communication with Him is necessary for ourselves and the Church. 

Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; Isaiah 58:9

God wants to hear from us and petition Him about our situations. If we don’t seek Him for the things we need or desire, how will we testify to others how good He is? Prayer is sacred work that you never retire from. A praying person who keeps the needs of the Church and leaders before God is a vital and necessary part of ministry. The major players in the Bible always sought God, and He answered them. The only reason they were considered major players is that they were written about in the Bible; we are the major players in our lives, so we must seek God as they did for the health and well-being of our own lives and the lives of our family and Church. 

“Persevering prayer always wins; God yields to importunity and fidelity. He has no heart to say No to such praying as Moses did. Actually God’s purpose to destroy Israel is changed by the praying of this man of God. It is but an illustration of how much just one praying is worth in this world, and how much depends upon him.” E.M. Bounds 

Work info: Weapon of Prayer - Christian Classics Ethereal Library

July 22, 2026

Isaiah 66

Judgment is coming, and it will be fierce!

For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many. Isaiah 66:16

Those that remain will go up to worship the Lord and will pass by, and be able to see all the dead bodies of those who transgressed against him. In Mark 9, Jesus says five times that the fire will not be quenched. 

Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. Mark 9:44

Isaiah says almost the same thing:

And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. Isaiah 66:24

Even though Christ followers may have to see the bodies of those whom the Lord slew, there is good news: we will also see the new heaven and new earth. Death will not be a part of our existence, and we will no longer experience sadness or pain, and the best news of all is that we will dwell with God. 

Shore up your faith in God, and surrender your life to Jesus if you haven’t already done so. It seems we are nearing the end, and if we are, you need to be ready.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. Revelation 21:4-5