Prayer . . . avails much (James 5:16)

As we battle spiritual forces, it is important to distinguish between the burden of the Lord and the weight of unbelief. We must take inventory of our emotions as we pray. Is a spirit of fear, anxiety, or hopelessness present? Do we feel “under the circumstance” that we are praying about? Are we consistently begging for God’s help? If so, the heaviness we are feeling is probably not about the circumstance we are facing, but from our own beliefs about God and life. These emotions are not going to go away just by praying longer, fasting, or praying harder. We also cannot pretend these emotions are not there. We need to confront them and rebuke spirits of unbelief, fear, and hopelessness. We can start this by repenting of wrong core beliefs that hinder confidence in the power of our prayers. Then we must turn our eyes to God’s faithfulness and worship Jesus until we get a revelation of His goodness and love toward us. The battle is first in us and then in our circumstances.

Declare: Fear and doubt are my main enemies. I am not a victim to these emotions. I replace the lies fueling them with the promises of God. I trust in the goodness of God.