Jumping back in time to the end of September, I wanted to take a minute to remember what I learned in a squad-wide training week in Lima, Peru.
PRAYER
Prayer: is a friendship/ relationship with the Father. Remember: the giver is better than the gifts.
Types of Prayer:
- Lament: let God in on our sorrows, be honest with our emotions (Lamentations 3).
- Press into what hurts and call it out to God. His steadfast goodness will address it.
- Asking: if you do not ask, you will not have (John 14:16).
- Spirit: helps us in our weakness, intercedes for the saints according to the will of God (Romans 8:23-27).
- Hopeful: of what is to come.
- Praise: be thankful (Psalm 145), builds confidence with God (Philippians 4:6-7).
- Listening: God talks back to us. Don’t take your eyes off God and try to do things on your own strength… we do dumb things outside of Him (Psalm 139).
- Persistent: faith will grow, relationships grow in constant communication.
- God gives and reveals to us the desires of our hearts.
- He will refine your heart.
- Watchful: be aware you’re entering the presence of God.
PRAY WITHOUT CEASING.
Prayer protects us.
Be persistent, thankful, watchful (on guard).
Prayer delivers us.
Ideas:
Write out your own Psalms.
Start a prayer journal.
Ask God what He’s thinking about today.
Write out your own Lamentations.
PROPHECY
Prophecy: to know (Acts 11:23)/ cause the future (Ezekiel 37:10).
- Hearing from the Lord.
- An ANSWER not a PROBLEM.
Types of Prophecy:
- Visions (Acts 1:17)
- Dreams (Matthew 2:13)
- Still Voice (1 Kings 19:11-13)
- Angels (Acts 8:26)
- Creation (Romans 1:20)
- Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Is it congruent with Scripture? (Galatians 1:8)
Is there fruit? (Philippians 3:8-10)
VALUES
We did an exercise to discover our top values. Our values heavily dictate how we see the world, and the decisions we make.
Here are my personal top values:
(1) family.
(2) beauty.
(3) health (balance).
(4) achievement/ success (challenge, effectiveness).
(5) respect.
My personal top aspiring value is:
(1) peace.
LEADERSHIP
A good leader:
- Has intimacy with the Lord.
- Performs quality self-care.
- Is teachable and humble.
- Carries influence.
- Has the ability to disciple.
- Operates out of spiritual authority and victory.
- Has the ability to deal with conflict and feedback.
- Is self-aware/ knows their purpose in the Kingdom.
OTHER NOTES
Angelic beings are constantly in praise because God is constantly revealing new aspects of Himself to them.
The culmination of our enjoyment in something is found in our ability to express it.
MIRACLE WEEK
During our week in Lima, we saw miracles happen! We saw financial miracles, spiritual and emotional miracles, and physical miracles. God is so, so sweet.
My favorite ministry in Lima was when our squad banded together to pray for 24 consecutive hours over the city of Lima. We prayed over those we had met, against evil spirits, over the refugees from Venezuela, and so much more. We made a whole conference room holy ground, and for twenty-four hours, people from my squad entered that room to lift up Lima.
This was the result:
There was a miracle in my life, too.
My squad mentor, Tammy, offered to walk anyone through deliverance from strongholds or spirits who needed it.
Jesus showed me that I did.
I learned that there are strongholds and spirits that are actually passed down generationally… and that I had them. My grandfather, for a portion of his life, let alcohol rule his life. While the worst part of his alcoholism was about twenty-five to fifty years ago, the damage from his decisions was already done. It created a very specific pattern of destruction that was rooted in processing anything challenging in life via anger, pride, brokenness/ isolation, and torment. These were, as defenses, as power grabs, as methods to win fights, as paths to “freedom” or “truth,” and as coping mechanisms, established in my family— and honestly, they may have already been there for generations before him. And while those are NOT words I would use to describe my family, I would absolutely say that those WERE four evil spirits that, for generations, have been trying to tear the people in my family apart.
I realized, there in Lima, Peru, that I held onto anger as a tool, onto pride as a defense, onto brokenness/ isolation as an explanation and excuse to remain distant from others, and onto torment as a permanent (but not always prevalent) state of life… and though I had given them much less space to operate in these past few years, they still ate away at me. Evil spirits WORK FOR DESTRUCTION. Anger especially was something I utilized, something I fed. The spirit of anger, while not always active, was always underlying, striking whenever it wanted. I labeled myself as someone with a “short temper,” and just moved on. The thing is, I no longer wanted it to get a say. I wanted to be able to confront challenging and difficult parts of life head-on without unrighteous anger. The power anger gives is a false one, it’s an isolating one, and it’s a destructive one. I wanted it gone. For good.
And so, I approached Tammy, and she and Alyssa walked me through deliverance with Jesus from four strongholds and spirits that had been rooted in me since birth: anger, pride, brokenness/ isolation, and torment.
And you know what happened next? A miracle!
I was freed from something that had unintentionally been passed down to me generationally. I felt roots that were decades old get torn out of my core as Jesus replaced the stronghold/ spirit of anger with joy. It felt like something ancient, and in stone, was cracked and crumbling in my soul as something golden and beautiful replaced it. I felt this generational stronghold get destroyed. I saw and heard angels sing over me in that moment. It was stunning… and it was a level of freedom I never knew existed.
For the two months following that moment, I was attacked by the spiritual realm even harder. But, I kept my eyes on Christ… and here’s what happened: I got into real community in my team (brokenness/ isolation no longer reigned). I got closer with my family (as we recognized that we have spirits to fight against TOGETHER). My dreams started to live again (as torment faded like a distant memory). I apologized to people that I hurt in the past (as pride laid down and I could see my faults in those situations).
True abundant life happens in community, with Jesus, as we claim victory over things that try to destroy us.
Spiritual warfare is real, y’all.
And the best part? Jesus can bring you freedom too.
