prayerstrategists.net · Worship Warfare Discovery Bible Story Set

Worship Warfare

Worship Warfare Discovery Bible Story Set

Prayer Worship Warfare:

Team Evaluation, Discovery Bible Story Set, & Resources

Introduction to FPS’s Prayer Strategies Discovery Bible Studies Set:

Prayer—or engagement with God—is integral to every aspect of the lives of the team members and the corporate team, as well as to the strategy and approach they use. Within this docu-ment, you will find the following: a definition and explanation to the Prayer strategy, a set of questions to help you diagnosis the status of your team’s use of this strategy, a Discovery Bible Story Set to help you understand Scripture’s view on this strategy, and links for further re-sources related to this Prayer strategy. We recommend completing the team’s diagnostic first then adapt the Discovery Story Set to meet your team’s needs. Feel free to use the typical DBS questions, however, in addition we’ve tried to suggest you ask these much deeper questions to elicit specifics regarding this strategy. The Fellowship of Prayer Strategists have a set of nine-teen di ff erent prayer strategies. These are not intended to be the complete picture of this strat-egy but a glimpse at the use for this strategy. You can find more strategies at www.prayer–strategists.net. We hope these tools will prove helpful in considering ways you and your team can increase your capacity for extraordinary prayer for the sake of the King and His Kingdom.

Prayer Worship Warfare Definition: Raising the waterline of God’s manifest presence through worship, engaging with God, proclaiming His will and exercising His delegated authority through supplication and obe-dience transforms not only us but also our harvest field.

Explanation: The story of the Bible is the story of worship. Mission exists because worship does not, it is said. The final vision of heaven from Revelation 7:9-10 is people from every tongue, tribe and nation around the Throne worshiping. Worship is as comprehensive a topic as prayer, and is in fact, a form of prayer or engagement with God. Worship is so much more than “kicking o ff the meeting with a little singing.” Worship is a life lived in awe of the One who deserves everything we can give because He is absolutely worthy of it all! But worship does include seven Hebrew words that capture some of the ways we can bring adoration and honor to God: hallal, yadah, towdah, shabach, barak, zamar, and tehillah. These concepts include boasting, raving, celebrating, being clamorously foolish, dancing, lifting the hands or wringing the hands, thankfulness, shouting, kneeling, bowing down, plucking the strings of an instru-ment, singing and spinning about. We see many examples of these in the Psalms but not limit-ed to the Psalms. We enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. The tabernacle of Moses is not only a picture of the heavenly realities but also a study in our life in relationship to God and how we approach Him. The priests were engaged in continual praise and worship, to the point that they were never to let the fire go out on the altar and in-cense was to be continually rising before God. A deeper look at the scriptures reveals the praise life of Jesus, our example; praise and worship was part of the pre-incarnate Jesus, part of His conception and birth, part of His life, ministry, presence, teaching, part of His crucifixion

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and ascension and part of His ministry today. God inhabits the praises of His people. As we praise and worship, we build a throne for His manifest presence. Praisers were sent out before the army during the time of Jehoshaphat and Israel thus defeated her enemies. It is no di ff erent today. Praise and worship is a form of intercession and spiritual warfare; it changes the spiritual atmosphere. We told to overcome evil with good; one way to accomplish that is to lift up God who alone is truly good. By being not only anointed in our praise and worship, but being in-formed and intentional, we can see God push back the darkness and shine brightly, doing what only He can do to bring revelation, redemption, and renewal into our world.

Diagnostic Questions for You & Your Team:

1. How do you and your team incorporate prayer, praise and worship into your lifestyle and ministry strategy? 2. Do you and your team have a systematic plan for filling your assigned field with the worship of God where it does not yet exist? Do you facilitate regular times of worship aimed at inviting God’s presence among your focal group? 3. Praise and worship when intentional, informed and anointed is powerful in dispelling darkness and shining God’s light. Has God revealed a strategy to you to “make His praises known in the earth” in your sphere? 4. How might God show you to redeem prayer/music/dance/arts in your sphere for His glory?

Discovery Bible Story Set: 1. “Send the Praisers First” – 2 Chronicles 20:1-30 A. Pray as a group before beginning that God would speak to us and open our hearts to hear Him. B. Read the entire passage aloud at least 2 times or listen to an audio version twice through. If your group uses storying, present the scripture in this way. Then, have the group practice re-telling the story together. C. Discussion questions: • What do you like about the story? What is di ffi cult or what don’t you like? • What do you learn about people from this story? What do you learn about God? • Who in the story is “engaging with God” and how? Are they followers of Jesus or not? • How is God engaging with the people in this story? • How do you see praise and worship exemplified in this story? What were the results?

quietly listen D. Take a few minutes to to God. What is He instructing you to do from what you’re hearing? Share with each other what you’re sensing. Are some of His instruc-tions quite di ff erent than you might have imagined? How? E. Who is God asking you to share this story with? When will you do it? Share with the group. F. What key principles about worship warfare can you draw from this passage?

We see that praise and worship released God to battle and defeat the enemies of Israel. Let’s look at a New Testament example of how praise and worship brought deliverance.

2. “Chains Fell Off” – Acts 16:16-34 A. Pray before beginning that God would speak to us and open our hearts to hear Him. B. Read the entire passage completely through. C. Discussion questions:

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• What do you like about the story? What is di ffi cult or what don’t you like? • What do you learn about people from this story? What do you learn about God? • How might this story relate to your own assignment from the Lord? • What situations that you face right now might shift in the face of praise and worship? • How did praise and worship result in salvations? D. Take a few minutes to quietly listen to God. What is He instructing you to do from what you’re hearing? Share with each other what you’re sensing. Are some of His instruc-tions quite di ff erent than you might have imagined? How? E. Who is God asking you to share this story with? When will you do it? Share with the group. F. What key principles about worship warfare can you draw from this passage?

We are told to draw near to God and He will draw near to us (Jas. 4:8). Let’s consider how thanksgiving and praise paves the way into His presence.

3. “Entry Protocol” – Psalm 100 Pray A. before beginning that God would speak to us and open our hearts to hear Him. B. Read the entire passage completely through. C. Discussion questions: • What do you like about the story? What is di ffi cult or what don’t you like? • What do you learn about people from this story? What do you learn about God? • How might this story relate to your own assignment from the Lord? • How does God invite us to enter His presence? It’s a two-part answer—entering gates and entering courts. • Why do we need to be in God’s presence? What di ff erence will it make? D. Take a few minutes to quietly listen to God. What is He instructing you to do from what you’re hearing? Share with each other what you’re sensing. Are some of His instruc-tions quite di ff erent than you might have imagined? How? E. Who is God asking you to share this story with? When will you do it? Share with the group. F. What key principles about worship warfare can you draw from this passage?

Psalm 22:3 tells us He is enthroned on the praises of His people. Let’s consider the role we are called into as followers of Christ Jesus and what that might entail.

4. “Royal Priesthood” – 1 Peter 2:9 A. Pray before beginning that God would speak to us and open our hearts to hear Him. B. Read the entire passage completely through. C. Discussion questions: • What do you like about the story? What is di ffi cult or what don’t you like? • What do you learn about people from this story? What do you learn about God? • What role are followers of Jesus called into? What is the result of fulfilling that role? • How might this story relate to your own assignment from the Lord?

listen to God D. Take a few minutes to quietly. What is He instructing you to do from what you’re hearing? Share with each other what you’re sensing.

E. Who is God asking you to share this story with? When will you do it? Share with the group. F. What key principles about worship warfare can you draw from this passage?

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Further Resources on Prayer Worship Warfare:

• Article from The Worship Community: “Seven Ways to Praise – A Simple Teaching on Worship”: http://www.theworshipcommunity.com/7-ways-to-praise-a-simple-teaching-on-wor–ship/• Powerpoint: “Intercessory Worship” https://prayerstrategists.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/intercessory-worship.ppt • Worship Warfare Interview with Betsy Brown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1s3y–PUquc0M&feature=youtu.be&list=PL-CCa_d9dkI7k1oos-imz-dhZegAaqrFi • “Why Worship?” by Roland Worton https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1yriJ8b8Dc&fea-ture=youtu.be

Bibliography:

Rejoice—A Biblical Study of the Dance, Debbie Roberts, 1984 Revival Press, Little • Rock, Arkansas. From the beginning God instructed His people to dance unto Him. Roberts out lines the vitality and inspiration of the dance, dance history naturally and spiritu ally and parallels its current restoration according to God’s pattern.

The Praise Life of Jesus •, Olen Gri ffi ng, 1985 Shady Grove Church Publications, Grand Prairie, Texas. Explore the praise life of Jesus Himself, from pre-incarnation, His lineage, His conception, birth and dedication, His life, presence and teachings, His crucifix ion and ascension and continuing until today.

• Praise and Worship in earth as it is in heaven, Anne Murchison, 1981 Word Books, Waco, Texas. Praise and worship can be the missing key to knowing God, not just knowing about Him. Murchison shares the purposes and results of praise and worship including a diagrammatic study of the praise-and-worship symbolism of Moses’ tabernacle, Davidic praise and worship and more from Old and New Testaments.

Exploring Worship—A Practical Guide to Praise & Worship, Bob Sorge, 2001 Oasis • House, Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Former director of music, Elim Bible Institute in Lima, NY, and then a pastor, Sorge provides a comprehensive treatment of praise and worship to provide power, patterns, principles, and practicals to every believer.

The History of Worship from Constantine to the Reformation, Christian History, • 2012 Christian History Institute, Worcester, PA. A supplemental resource from Christian History Magazine, this booklet includes the landscape of medieval worship, worship in the newly legalized church, and many useful articles describing the forms of worship through this segment of church history.

Worship – The Global Hallelujah •, Edited by Barbara Colborn of Wycli ff e Bible Transla-tors, 2000 Wycli ff e Bible Translators, Orlando, FL. Beautiful photographs and insightful scriptures bring glory to God and context to the purpose of missions to reflect His glory through sharing and participating in worship around the world.

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Further resources and connection with other prayer strategists are available through the Fel-lowship of Prayer Strategists and their website www.prayerstrategists.net.

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