July 28, 2026

The Weapon of Prayer 

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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

July 21, 2026

Isaiah 65

Isaiah's prophecy in chapter 65 points to something that we were never taught. Unless you sit under a preacher that goes through every book of the Bible for your entire life, you may not get the full benefit of learning all there is to know about its history or the future predictions. All that to prepare you for what I'm about to say.

Matthew Henry lived before the state of Israel existed, and here is what he says:

"The Lord God shall slay thee; he shall quite extirpate the J*ws and cut them off from being a people; they shall no longer live as a nation, nor ever be incorporated again." Matthew Henry 

He is referring to this verse: And ye shall leave your name for a curse unto my chosen: for the Lord GOD shall slay thee, and call his servants by another name: Isaiah 65:15

Who are these other servants? "The children of the covenant shall no longer be called J*ws, but Christians; and to them, under that name, all the promises and privileges of the new covenant shall be secured." Matthew Henry

We are the people of this verse; Christians: I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name. Isaiah 65:1

Isaiah prophesied the Millennial Reign of Jesus and what happened during that time in verses 17-26. The people lived joyfully! There was procreation, but children wouldn't die in infancy; they would live to 100 years old. There were still sinners, but they lived to 100 years old in misery. I had always believed that all the sinners would be gone, but then I always questioned why we would reign with Jesus if there was no one to reign over, so Isaiah answers this question. Also, during that time, Isaiah mentioned the lion lying down with the lamb.

Once your eyes are opened to this, you cannot unsee it!

After digging deep into the scriptures and comparing what I found in historical documents, I believe we are living in the time after Jesus' Millennial Reign, which is Satan's short season, and why I'm so interested in the historical buildings. It only makes sense that they were built during Jesus' reign because we do not have the technology to build like that today. However, Satan's time of deceiving the world is almost up, and we are being gathered as part of Jesus's army of troops to help defeat him and send him into the abyss, never to be seen again. What's next in the timeline? The final judgment of sinners and the Great White Throne judgment. Then we will live happily ever after. It's not a fairytale; it's real life. 

July 20, 2026

Isaiah 64

If you’ve ever felt remorse for your sin, yet you feel like you don’t have appropriate words to confess, then read Isaiah’s lamentation over the destruction of the temple by the Chaldeans. Isaiah saw the destruction through a prophecy, yet Jeremiah, in the Book of Lamentations, saw it firsthand and lived through it. When the Holy Spirit checks you and makes you feel sorry for your sins, and you are remorseful and want to plead for God’s forgiveness, but your words seem hollow, and you feel you need to plead with words that have deeper meaning, use Isaiah’s example. We deserve whatever God sees fit for our correction; however, he also loves us deeply and will listen to our cries for mercy if we rend our hearts, turn away from our sins, and turn our hearts back to Him. He is our loving Father and will hear our prayers; He knows what we’ve done anyway, so go to Him with a repentant heart, confess your sin, and you will likely avoid getting what you deserve. 

But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6

Be not wroth very sore, O LORD, neither remember iniquity for ever: behold, see, we beseech thee, we are all thy people. Isaiah 64:9

July 19, 2026

Isaiah 63

Isaiah 63 is a vivid picture of God's power to redeem us from the enemy's clutches. In this chapter, God is depicted as a hero standing between Edom and His people, wearing a bloodstained garment from slaying their enemies, looking as red as if He had been working the winepress. 

For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. Isaiah 63:4

God grants us mercy through His lovingkindness and is willing to fight for us and release us from the enemy's clutches. Like He told Moses, "The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still." There are times when we are useless in spiritual battles; we cry out for God's help rather than take on the enemy alone. However, we can and must sometimes advocate for ourselves, using the power of the Holy Spirit Jesus gave us, and make an effort to benefit from him, since he is within us, and to wield his power to conquer the enemy. 

And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me. Isaiah 63:5

As a caution, do not try to battle the enemy if you have sin that you haven’t repented of; the enemy will use it as a legal right to continue to vex you and cause you trouble. So think before you use your battle words; seek the Lord's forgiveness, then wield that powerful sword, and watch as God avenges you. 

July 18, 2026

Isaiah 62

Isaiah can see the salvation of all that comes through the J*w, which we know was Jesus. Because of Jesus, the J*ws will no longer be looked down upon. Isaiah made it his mission to faithfully proclaim the righteousness of God until all, including the Gentiles, see salvation, and they will be considered a crown of glory. The true holy people of God did not deny Jesus as the Messiah and know that he came to them first for their salvation.  Even though most during his time on earth rejected him, and sent him to the cross. However, salvation, which was meant for all of us, came anyway. As hard as they tried, they couldn't stop him from giving the world salvation and eternal life with him as our King. If the people of that day had truly understood and listened to Isaiah's words when they were read to them, they would have known the truth about who Jesus was when he came to proclaim salvation for all. 

Behold, the LORD hath proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. Isaiah 62:11

July 17, 2026

Isaiah 61

Jesus himself says that Isaiah 6:1-2 is about him. He was in the temple and was handed the scroll for that day's scripture reading, and it just so happened that what he read he attributed to himself. God has perfect timing. This was right after he came out of the wilderness during his temptation. The people were angered by what he said, and they came after him, but he slipped away unscathed. What I found most interesting was that what Luke recorded and what the scripture says differ slightly. Isaiah mentions God's vengeance. Here are the verses for comparison:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; Isaiah 61:1-2

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. Luke 4:18-19

Jesus fulfilled this scripture, and even though Jesus, according to Luke, doesn't repeat the portion that mentions vengeance, God avenged what happened to Jesus on the cross in 70AD when Jerusalem and the temple was destroyed after the Christ-followers left, and those responsible for the death of Jesus were destroyed, which was the worst tribulation than had ever been, according to Josephus' recount of history. The Roman Empire was also destroyed not long after that, though historical dates have been changed to sanitize history. We are not living in the timeline we've been told about, but we could be living in the season of deception mentioned in Revelation 20. Looking at lost technology and past buildings that could have been built during the Millennial Kingdom, we see that ever since then, the enemy has been trying to cover up the truth by searing our minds into believing his lies. Wars were strategically designed to destroy the evidence, but they were unsuccessful because those buildings are all over the world, even in small towns.

No matter what timeline we are in, Jesus is the only way to have eternal life, and that is something the enemy cannot take away from us when we accept Jesus' free gift.