To become a powerful spiritual warrior like Jesus, you must pick up your mighty weapon of prayer and use it to penetrate the barrier the enemy has built that is hindering you from experiencing the victories you need in your life.

The type of prayer we are talking about that is capable of piercing enemy lines is not the average five or ten minute prayer. It is not based upon a specific formula. It is a deeper dimension of prayer where you are travailing, agonizing, and groaning before God. This type of prayer involves engaging the enemy in one-to-one combat, battling the powers, principalities, and evil spirits that are at work, and not letting go until you have overcome their resistance and have broken their hold.

This type of spiritual warfare during prayer is like a soldier out on the battlefield. The enemy has formed a strong line of defense, a barrier that seems almost impossible to penetrate. There is no way of escape. The soldier has been struggling to overcome the enemy's resistance, but before the battle can be won he must penetrate enemy lines and overcome the enemy.

I have experienced this type of spiritual battle during prayer many times. In Madras, India, I faced a battle where the presence of demonic forces, spiritual powers, and rulers of darkness were so prevalent I could literally feel them wherever I went. The evil powers and principalities over that city had built a strong line of defense. They didn't want the Word of God to go forth and the power of God to be released which would break their hold on the people, so they stirred up the Hindu priests to organize a plot to kill me. I knew that before Madras could experience a breakthrough in the Spirit, it was necessary to penetrate the barrier the enemy had built. Before the meeting began, I closed myself in my room and used the powerful weapons of fasting and prayer. For twenty-four hours I agonized and wrestled with spiritual wickedness and rulers of darkness. I had known before what it was to pray, but I began to travail in prayer in a way I had never experienced before.

In your life there are going to be times when you face battles where evil forces, powers and principalities have built strongholds in the lives of your loved ones. There are going to be times when you face problems that are so overwhelming that you just don't know what to do and you must hear from God.

The only way you are going to break through the barrier and tear down those strongholds is to get on your face before God in times of prayer and fasting and stay there until you know that you know that you know Satan's power has been broken. You must enter into a time of intensified spiritual warfare where you are weeping and travailing before the Lord.

I will be spiritually aggressive in prayer today. I will enter into a new dimension of intensified spiritual warfare.