The Rules of Engagement

Introduction

Basic Training

P salm 144:1–15 records the prayer of a skilled warrior by the name of David. From his days as a shepherd boy and throughout his reign as king of the nation of Israel, God empowered him in the art, science, and technology of strategic prayer and spiritual warfare. His skill and expertise were gained as God, in His sovereignty, placed him in the midst of a variety of battles, including encounters with bears and lions, confrontation with Goliath, and the battle he fought with his son Absalom, whose defiant insurrection almost cost David his kingdom. In this psalm, David lets us know that it was Jehovah-Gibbor, the mighty Man of war, who taught him warfare strategies and tactics and provided the divine empow erment for success. He lifts his voice in adulation to honor his General. He declares, “Blessed be the Lord, my Rock and my keen and firm Strength, Who teaches my hands to war and my fingers to fight—My Steadfast Love and my Fortress, my High Tower and my Deliverer, my Shield and He in Whom I trust and take refuge, Who subdues my people under me” (Psalm 144:1–2, amp). From David’s life experiences, I have learned that the only way you can become a skillful warrior is to be trained and placed in the midst of a battle. It is only when you are placed in the furnace of afflictions, and when all hell seems to break loose around you, that you can truly be trained in the art of strategic prayer and spiritual warfare. Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. You will never get the level of training you need in order to become an effective prayer warrior by engaging in “war games.” You must face the real enemy on the real battlefield. Simply reading the Bible or attending workshops and conferences will never make you an effective warrior. Proverbs implies that knowledge without experience and wisdom is folly. (See Proverbs 14:18; 16:22 . ) The intent of this book is to help you to effectively war in the heavens for new spheres of power/jurisdiction so that the kingdom of God is promoted and established in new realms, regions, and terrestrial domains, and to move