Tears ran down my cheeks as I watched the closing credits scroll down my computer screen.
I had laughed and cried … and cried the ugly cry … as I watched Priscilla Shirer transform from a mediocre Christian wife in a dysfunctional marriage to a prayer warrior staking her claim, holding the line and demanding victory.
The next morning I got up, quietly padded into our living room, turned on the heat and glanced around. Where could I put my war room?
We live in a 750-square-foot home, and every room in this house is a high traffic area. Even our bedroom isn’t private, since you have to walk through it to get to the boys’ room.
We don’t have closets, either. We have wardrobes. Amoires, if you want to get fancy with it. I suppose you could try to climb in it. It would be uncomfortable, if it didn’t fall apart first.
So, where could I put my war room?
What Is the Purpose for a War Room?
First of all, I had to ask myself: Is it the war room that is significant, or what it represents?
I think the answer is obvious. It’s what the war room represents, otherwise our war room will be no more effective than any other method we’ve tried and failed at in our effort to make our prayer life more effective.
The purpose for a war room isn’t the room itself, the purpose is to have a place where we can be free from all distractions, where we can focus, and where we can get alone in that “closet” with the Lord and simply spend time with Him.
For some, that may be a physical room, for others—like me—it may need to be something more creative.
A Creative War Room
Once I had in mind what I wanted, decided to make my prayer journal my war room. However, I wanted to make my prayer journal something more, so I first grabbed an ordinary notebook and made myself a cover.
I used packing tape to cover this, but you could use clear contact paper. Then inside I divided it up.
1. On the first pages, I write down the things I pray for daily: family, unsaved loved ones and so on.
2. Next, I write down prayers that need answers: healing for my friends, loved ones walking through hard seasons of life and more. I date these needs so that I can track when they were answered.
3. I made an “Answered Prayers” section in the back of my journal and date the answered prayers.
4. I have a prayer strategy for my husband and marriage. I made a calendar so that every day of the month I have a specific prayer to pray over him and our marriage
5. I have a page specifically dedicated to my battles.
Now here is where it gets exciting!
Over the next many pages, I keep a journal and battle plan! I regularly write about how God is orchestrating circumstances, or what He is speaking to me, about the battles I’m facing and the strategy I am using to overcome them.
I believe this is critical to my spiritual walk, because journaling and strategizing helps me to remain intentional about moving forward and walking in a victorious mindset.
So many times we get entrenched in battle, and our mindsets become bogged down in the battlefield as the focus shifts from being a victor to being a victim. We can’t afford to do this! The moment we become a victim, we’ve become a prisoner of war (POW)! But God never intended for us to be a POW! He wants us to be a victorious warrior.
Read what Paul wrote here:
“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has resurrected together with Him, having forgiven you all sins. He blotted out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us and contrary to us, and He took it out of the way, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed authorities and powers, He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them by the cross” (Col. 2:13-15).
Dear ones, when you received Christ as your Savior, he took your dead, rotting, and defiled spirit and made it alive in Him! He forgave all your sins and completely wiped out the death sentence against you. Then, He utterly disarmed the enemy. And had He only done that it would have been enough; but He went a step further.
He took the enemy captive. In Psalms we read, “The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, even thousands of thousands; the Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place. You have ascended on high, You have led captivity captive; You have received gifts from people, yes, even from the rebellious, that the Lord God might dwell among them” (Ps. 68:17-18).
God is a mighty warrior and His army is countless and dressed for battle! Paul refers to this verse in Ephesians when he describes that Jesus first descended to hell after His death on the cross and then ascended on high after He completely disarmed the enemy, leading “captivity captive.”
But He didn’t even stop there! After He led the enemy into captivity, he made a public spectacle of them! Imagine what that means! Picture with me what captivity would mean in medieval times: a warrior on a horse with his captives chained behind him stumbling along, stripped bare and being paraded through the streets while people cheered, shouted, jeered and cried a victory cry because they no longer had to live in fear of the enemy!
That warrior is Jesus Christ.
Those captives are our enemies.
We are the crowd! We have been set free. We no longer have to live in fear! {eoa}
Rosilind Jukic, a Pacific Northwest native, is a missionary living in Croatia and married to her Bosnian hero. Together they live with their two active boys where she enjoys fruity candles, good coffee and a hot cup of herbal tea on a blustery fall evening. Her passion for writing led her to author her best-selling book The Missional Handbook. At A Little R & R she encourages women to find contentment in what God created them to be. You can also find her at Missional Call where she shares her passion for local and global missions. She can also be found at on a regular basis. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google +.
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