Spiritual Warfare Prayer: When Your Messiest Prayers Become Your Most Powerful
- Angela Diaz
- Sep 6
- 5 min read
The Journal Entry That Changed Everything
Yesterday, I sat with my journal open, pen trembling in my hand, writing words I never expected to see flow onto paper:
"Dear Heavenly Father, I want to trust you more with my life. With my thoughts, I get so full of anger when I think the enemy is trying to deceive me. It's like the enemy and I are so close, face to face in battle and I don't know when I'm hearing the enemy or you the Truth, when I realize the enemy's lies I get so upset"
As I continued pouring out my heart, confessing my confusion about discerning God's voice from the enemy's whispers, I had no idea I was about to discover an ancient Greek word that would completely reframe my understanding of authentic prayer.
Enter Strong's G685: The Word That Holds Two Truths
While studying Romans 3:14 later that evening, I stumbled upon something remarkable. The Greek word ἀρά (ara), catalogued as Strong's G685, appears in Paul's description of humanity's fallen condition: "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."
But here's what stopped me in my tracks: this same Greek word means both prayer (as lifted to Heaven) and imprecation or curse.
How could one word encompass both prayer and cursing? Then it hit me like lightning - my journal entry was the perfect embodiment of Strong's G685.
The Sacred Paradox of Spiritual Warfare Prayer
The ancient Greeks understood something we often miss in our sanitized approach to faith: the most authentic prayers frequently emerge not from mountaintop experiences, but from the trenches of spiritual warfare.
ἀρά represents prayer that acknowledges the reality of spiritual battle while simultaneously lifting that reality to Heaven. It's prayer born from the context of spiritual attack, deception, and what could be described as the enemy's "cursing" against our minds and spirits.
When I wrote "I get very upset when it's you on the other side, maybe you were too quiet on that side or maybe I couldn't hear you over the deceit maybe I was too deep in the hole to hear you Lord" - I was experiencing ara in its purest form.
Biblical Foundation: You're In Good Company
The beauty of discovering Strong's G685 is realizing that spiritual warfare prayer isn't a modern concept - it's woven throughout Scripture:
Romans 3:14 - Where ara appears, acknowledging the reality of spiritual cursing in our world
David's Psalms - Psalm 13, 42, 77 - raw, honest prayers from places of confusion and spiritual battle
Ephesians 6:12 - "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age"
2 Corinthians 10:5 - "Casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ"
My desperate question "Why is it I can't recognize your voice sometimes, where is this all headed?" echoes David's own struggles in the Psalms. I was in biblical company.
The Transformation: From Confusion to Sacred Conversation
What makes Strong's G685 so powerful is how it reframes our understanding of prayer itself.
When we lift our voices to Heaven from the midst of spiritual battle, we're not just crying out in desperation - we're participating in an ancient, sacred act that transforms curse into blessing, confusion into conversation with our Creator.
My journal entry continued: "I just want peace when will I ever learn? When will I not be so offended by the enemies tactics? When?"
This isn't the prayer of someone going through religious motions. This is ara - authentic prayer emerging from genuine spiritual struggle, acknowledging both the reality of warfare and the desperate need for divine intervention.
The Greek Behind the Breakthrough
Let's dive deeper into the linguistic beauty of Strong's G685:
Root: Probably from G142 (αἴρω - "to lift")
Pronunciation: ar-ah'
Primary meaning: Prayer as lifted to Heaven
Secondary meaning: Imprecation, curse, malediction
New Testament usage: Once in Romans 3:14
Septuagint usage: Multiple times in contexts of both blessing and cursing
The word literally means "prayer lifted upward" - which is exactly what happens when we cry out to God from places of spiritual attack.
Personal Application: Your Ara Moments Matter
If you're reading this and recognizing yourself in my journal entry - if you've felt the disorientation of spiritual attack, the frustration of trying to discern God's voice amid noise, the exhaustion of what feels like endless battle - your prayers matter.
Your angry prayers matter. Your confused prayers matter. Your desperate, messy, unpolished cries to Heaven matter.
Strong's G685 reminds us that God receives prayers emerging from spiritual warfare just as readily as those offered in peaceful moments. In fact, there's something particularly precious about prayers lifted from the trenches of struggle, because they represent the ultimate act of faith - continuing to believe in God's goodness even when everything feels chaotic.
The Promise in the Pattern
Perhaps the most beautiful thing about discovering Strong's G685 is what it reveals about prayer itself. When we lift our voices to Heaven from spiritual battle, we're transforming the very thing meant to destroy us into sacred conversation with God.
The enemy's tactics - the confusion, deception, and spiritual cursing - become the very context from which our most powerful prayers emerge.
My journal entry ended with: "I've been pushed around like a rag doll in my despair. I just want peace when will I ever learn?"
But in discovering ara, I learned that being "pushed around" spiritually doesn't disqualify my prayers - it makes them more sacred, more necessary, more powerful.
Walking Forward: Embracing Ara Prayer
As I continue this journey of learning to discern God's voice clearly, I'm embracing what I now call "ara prayer" - the sacred act of lifting honest, messy, warfare-born conversations to Heaven.
These prayers don't need to be polished. They don't need theological precision. They just need to be authentic cries lifted upward to the One who has already won the ultimate victory.
Your battlefield prayers are not second-class petitions. They are ara - sacred words lifted to Heaven from the very place where Heaven's power is most needed.
Reflection Questions for Your Own Journey:
When have you experienced your own "ara moments" - praying through spiritual confusion or attack?
How does understanding Strong's G685 change your perspective on honest, struggling prayers?
What would it look like to embrace "battlefield prayer" as a sacred spiritual discipline?
Where in your life do you need to lift "ara prayer" - acknowledging both the spiritual battle and God's power to bring clarity?
If this resonates with your own spiritual journey, I encourage you to grab a fresh journal and begin documenting your own ara moments. There's something powerful about pen to paper when it comes to authentic prayer - I can't explain why, but it just is.
Remember: Your messiest prayers might be your most powerful ones.
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