Sherry Van Dolder on Winning the Spiritual Battle with God's Word

Continuing the series on Praying God's Word Over Us, Sherry VanDolder, a woman of faith, certified relationship expert, and author shares her journey of writing with purpose, and how aligning prayer with scripture can shift mindsets and bring healing. She speaks powerful prayers over listeners, encouraging them to trust in God's plan and the transformative power of His Word. 

This episode is a must-listen for anyone seeking to win in the spiritual battle between light and darkness.

Sherry’s books, including the Lucas Warbuck fantasy-adventure series and The Shadow Light which exposes the schemes and tactics of the enemy of our soul, are available on Amazon.

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Thank you so much for listening.

Music Credit: https://indiefy.me/wanted-carter

Transcript

JKO: [00:00:00] Welcome to this episode of Messy Can't Stop Her. I am your host, Judith Kambia Obatusa, J K O. In today's episode, we are so privileged to have Sherry Van Dolder. She'll be praying over us today. Remember, we're continuing our series on praying scriptures over ourselves. Sherry Van Dolder is a woman of faith and her life's passion is to women who are facing challenges in their relationship.

She supports them in navigating those challenges. Sherry has a certification from the Guttman Institute. The Guttman Institute are relationship experts, align very much with Sherry's values.

So today she's going to be praying over us. [00:01:00] And another beautiful thing about Sherry, and I'm going to, you're going to see the links to her contacts in the notes is that she's an author.

Very welcome. And thank you for being here today. 

Sherry Van Dolder: Thank you so much. Thank you for the lovely introduction, Judith. 

JKO: I described you as a woman of faith who writes fiction. Can you tell us a little bit about that? 

Sherry Van Dolder: Yeah the fiction that I write, I write with purpose, and for instance, the Shadow Light was the very first book that I wrote, and I wrote that with the intention of demonstrating through fiction, the interaction of the spiritual world around us, you know, the kingdom of God, and then the kingdom of darkness, and how many of us live our lives not knowing that these even exist.

So, the book was written with that in mind, that I would demonstrate through a fictional story, truths, but in a fiction way so that it actually would enlighten the reader to maybe be conscious of that. [00:02:00] The fiction series that I have, Lucas Warbuck, that is more of an allegory. So, it's really fun fiction for kids. And there's a lot of imagery in it. The stories draw you in and you can also experience the two kingdoms, kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light. They also demonstrate truths of the word of God. If you read it, you can see that in the book. So, write with purpose. I have an imaginative element to my personality, so I like to write fiction. It's a lot of fun, but I also want to write with purpose so that when the reader reads it, you know, they're enlightened and joy entertained and feel good about what they've read. 

JKO: Thank you so much. So, You talked about having the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness. Now we are doing the series on prayers and the reason we started this series is that many times women go through challenges and we're looking for a solution.

We hear self care is a very good way to get a grip [00:03:00] on your own wellbeing and we hear therapy, talking to a qualified psychotherapist. Or even a life coach, someone to just guide you through, help you get some clarity around some of the challenges you're going through, therapy and I'm doing therapy. I am practicing self care and some people actually even need medication for to support them with their mental health. So doing all of that, but at the end I see that we still need something more. We still need something that anchors us, something beyond ourselves. And that's where the career part comes in. So, when you talk about the kingdom of light and darkness, can you tell us how prayer plays a role in that kingdom? 

Sherry Van Dolder: Yeah, well, prayer is really integral to our outlook on [00:04:00] life. You know, any of the positive things that we can do can be very helpful, but they can only go so far. Really, the battle is really a lot of ways in our mind. And prayer helps us to get through the really difficult times. God has a plan for our life, and prayer is a way Of talking that out with God when we have heartaches and heartbreaks and hurt and pain, you know, sometimes you can forget what you've learned in therapy. You can forget how to take care of yourself and it's just, it's just you and God and speaking to God, knowing that he's a God, you can talk to that.

He answers our prayers that he cares for us. Prayer is a vehicle to get through life. I found that prayer. In my case has moved me from place to place to place like I wouldn't be where I am today without prayer and trusting God. It's a way to communicate with God and to know that he's a God that we can talk to Anytime and prayer isn't just talking to God. It's also listening hearing from God, you know, being quiet before him and I have to say to sometimes we don't even know what to pray. [00:05:00] 

We don't even know that we can even pray ourselves. We're so broken hearted that we don't even know what to say to God. We're like, I don't even know what to say. God, I'm just in those times just laying before him and Just being still, you know, we can hear God's voice. And I have to say that, you know, God knows each one of us intimately and whether we know it or whether we don't know it. He loves us and he cares for us.

And if that isn't a personal experience of yours, and you don't realize that it's something to actually. Really, really think about think about how God really does know you and loves you in the word of God tells us that so when we when we read the scriptures in a little bit, I'll talk a little bit more about that prayer is vital to living.

It's vital to our lives. You know, there are the spiritual aspects. The powers of darkness are all around us trying to say, you know, give up, you know, you can't do it. You're no good. Everybody hates you. You're going to lose your family. You're going to lose your kids. Your relationship is going to break down, you know, and prayer and prayer [00:06:00] lining up with the word of God.

It says, Oh, no, I am going to succeed. I am going to overcome this. I am an overcomer. God has a plan for my life. Only victory is in my path and in my future, Jeremiah 29, 11. I was going to read to you later, but it says God has a plan for us. And it's his plan is good. His plan for us is for us to prosper.

Prayer is vital for living. And I do not know how people who don't know God and don't, don't pray. actually can manage because life can be very difficult, but God has a better plan and a plan for good things in our lives. And we need to know that. 

JKO: If you wanted to tell someone how prayer has impacted your life, someone who doesn't believe in God, someone who hasn't experienced it. Is there an incident or a story you can share about the impact of prayer? 

Sherry Van Dolder: Yeah, this is what happened to me. I believed in God as far as I can remember, love [00:07:00] God, have always known and heard God loves you, just part of a Christian walk. You know, God loves you and you just accept that, you know, we're supposed to accept that and we think we do.

So, when trouble comes or even you're just frustrated, like there was a time in my life where I was like, I am just so sick and tired of being sick and tired. I'm just fed up with, with everything. You know, there was just, I was unhappy and I was crying out to God and saying, you know what? I just don't even know what to do.

I don't know. I'm, I'm just disappointed. And so, I'm not really sure what the exact thing was that prompted me to do this. I guess it was just God leading to me. I opened my Bible and I started to read, you know, I've always read the Bible, but this time is different. I actually started to read. I'm like, I am not going to.

Give up until I find the truth and until I know what to do with my life. And so I started to read and basically my kids would get on the bus in the morning, you know, let them get them off to school. They get on the bus and I would open my Bible and I would start reading and I was drawn [00:08:00] into it. And just like pondering the verses that I was reading, I was like absorbing them into my heart and what do they mean to me?

And it was almost, I wouldn't call it an obsession, but it was a real need. I just needed to keep going. And then I would look at the clock and I'd go, Oh, the kids are coming home from school. I need to make dinner. I need to get the laundry done and all this. This happened day after day.

And I'll tell you through that time. Is when I really began to understand deep in my heart that I know that I know that I know that God loves me and that I would say is the foundation of prayer, unless you know someone cares about you. Like, you know, we pass people every day that don't care about us.

We're not going to go tell them all of our troubles or anything, you know, they can be nice to us, but they don't care. But when we know that God loves us. He has an interest in us. He cares about our life, and he has a good plan for us. I want to know what that good plan is, and I want to know who he is.

And the way that we actually can benefit and [00:09:00] enjoy a relationship with God is through prayer. So, we talk to him and we listen to what he says. And I mean, even if you don't know how to pray, you pick up the Bible and you speak the word of God over your life. And there's power in those words. The power of God is alive in that Bible on those pages that you see those words printed.

Those words are alive and they cannot help. But impact your life, if you absorb them and you receive them. So, it's not just about reading, it's not just about standing and praying. You have to believe that God's hearing you, that He loves you, and that the Word of God is actually going to impact your life.

So, there's an amount of receiving and accepting that, that truth, and also believing in your heart that the Word of God. It is the truth. And how do we know it's the truth? Well, you know, the Bible talks a lot about faith, so we believe by faith. I accept that the Word of God is the truth. I believe that it is because I've seen the reality of the impact on my life.

That's how I know that it's true. I have a history with God. I have a history of using the Word of God. And by using that Word of God in my life and applying it to my [00:10:00] situations, I have seen positive change come into my life. There's been times where I should have been broken hearted and on the floor. But I have a joy in my heart.

Well, how do you explain that? It's, it's God, it's prayer. It's the word of God. 

JKO: Thank you, Sherry. So, we've talked about speaking God's word over your life. So now for every sister that's listening this moment, I would love to ask you to take a moment, take a breath and receive the prayers as Sherry begins to speak God's word. over our lives. She's talked about her experience of seeing God change situations, seeing God give her hope, seeing God take away broken heartedness by reason of a word being spoken over her life. And I want you to believe with me that that will be your testimony. Sherry, the floor is yours. 

Sherry Van Dolder: Thank you.

Thank you so much. And so when I talk about this, believe with me that this is the [00:11:00] truth. Like I know it, I know it in my heart and no one can convince me because like I said, I have a history with God and you, you do too. You can too. You put your trust in God and he's going to deliver you. The word of God says that.

So, first of all, one of the things I want to say is this, this is your life, what you've got, that's your life. And I would say, make it good. How are you going to make it good? trusting God, praying, asking Him what He has for you and falling in line with the Word of God, but trusting the Word of God. Because when you open the Bible and you read the Word of God, and you have the scriptures in your heart, You're gonna see your life in these scriptures.

It's like a mirror where there are verses that jump off the page and the verses I'm going to share with you are ones that have jumped off the page, so to speak to me, and they become meaningful to me and I have memories attached with some of these. I can remember, for instance one of my children was missing.

And for three days, my child was gone and I [00:12:00] was in a state of desperation. I, everybody was praying. I asked all my friends to pray and, you know, I'm opening the Bible and asking God, what do I do? You know, I'm praying, praying, praying. I called a ministry that I was watching on television and they had a prayer line.

I called the prayer line. Somebody came on the phone and I'm telling you, I've never heard a lady pray like this before. She prayed and. She called down heaven, and one of the things I have to say is, as she was praying, when she finished praying, and I'd never heard anyone pray like this before, she just went after it, and I started to say, but I'm afraid, as soon as I said the word afraid, she went into it again, and there was like a big praying again, away she went, and that at the end of that call, I've got to tell you, 15 minutes later, 15 minutes, now he'd been gone for three days, And I didn't know where my child was going.

15 minutes later, the phone rings and a lady that I've never seen has never met me, calls me and says, you don't know me, but your son is across the [00:13:00] street at a park. And I thought you'd like to know where he is. And she told me the address. I called my husband, he got in his truck and he drove over and picked him up and everything worked out fine.

That's the power of prayer. That's the power of prayer. That's what I'm talking about. There's things in your life that you don't know what to do. For example, one of my children was depressed. I didn't know what was wrong. I couldn't figure it out. I asked God to show me what is going on in his life.

Why is he depressed? What's going on? And the Lord revealed it to me and I was able to address it and fix it. So you have whatever problems you have in your life. You know what? God is the answer. The Bible is the answer and praying to God and the scripture. So I just want to say a quick prayer. Heavenly father, we just come before you, Lord.

And I just ask you, Lord, that you would. Just reveal yourself to us, father, as we're speaking, reveal yourself through the word, the word that I'm going to be sharing with the listeners here. Lord, we just thank you for them. Lord, just open their hearts, open their eyes, take the blindness from their eyes so they can really see the truth.

And know, know that they know that they [00:14:00] know that you love them. Like I know, show them Lord. We just thank you father in Jesus name. So listen to what the Bible says, and I've actually going to read right out of the scriptures. The amplified Bible is the one that I'm using. Today, this is the first one that I have set aside.

I sought the Lord. I inquired of the Lord out of necessity. So that's what I was doing. I had a need. So I'm seeking God. And this is what the word says that he heard me and he delivered me out of all of my fears. You know what that phone call did gone. My fears are gone. That was prayer. That's the first one.

The next one I have for you is the Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in mercy and loving kindness. The Lord is good to all. So, if you're thinking that God's too mad at you, you know, maybe you've done some things in your life and you're thinking, well, you know, I've never don't really pray [00:15:00] much.

I don't even know if God would listen to me anyways, because I'm not that good. But, you know, the Lord says he's good to all that's not in Psalm 145. He's good to all so that means all doesn't matter what you've done in the past. He knows it, but he still loves you. I mean, you know, I have a family. I've got children.

They've done things in the past. You know, I might be annoyed, but you know, what? Bottom line is I love them. Anyways, it doesn't matter. And God loves you too. So here's the 1st, Jeremiah 29:11. That I referred to earlier, and that one is the one that says, for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Now, some of you listening today have lost hope. You've got to have hope. That's where it starts. So have hope. Believe in God. Believe in the goodness of God and have hope. And that scripture tells you that God has a good plan for your life. And he knows the future and he's not got anything to harm you.

It's good. [00:16:00] There's nothing but good. God is only good. So right now I'm going to stop and pray this one over you. We just thank you that you know, the plans that you have for our lives, that your plans are only good. You say, right, there's nothing that you have in your, in your mind's eye and your heart to harm us, that you love us and your plans are to give us hope, to give us a future, a good future, we just receive this in Jesus name.

So, we'll just say, you know what, Lord, thank you for that word that you've got a good plan for me. Thank you. You have good plans for my life and you have it all figured out. I don't need to know what it is, but you have it figured out. You have it sorted out. And you're rescuing me, Lord. Thank you that I can have hope in you because you have my future. We just ask that in Jesus name. Amen. 

So, the next one is Proverbs 3, 5, and 8. So this is a really interesting scripture, and this is something that we all need to know. So, a lot of times we think we know what we're doing, and we think we know what we should be doing, but the Proverbs 3 tells us don't trust yourself [00:17:00] You know what?

I don't want to trust myself because I've made mistakes in the past. I don't want to go there anymore. So, this is what this verse says. Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind, and do not rely on your own insight or your understanding in all your ways. Acknowledge, recognize.

And he will make your past straight and plain. So, this verse is telling us that God's got it figured out. Forget about what you're thinking and really ask, and God will put things into your heart and God will speak to you through your heart, through your word.

You'll see another scripture or that one where you'll just know, you know what? I have peace about this. There is a verse that I don't have right here at the moment, but it says, let peace be the umpire of your heart. So if you don't know what you're supposed to do next, this is how, you know, you have solid peace about it because peace, the peace of God is in your heart that, you know, that even if it sounds a little bit, you know, I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but you've got peace about it.

The [00:18:00] peace of God about it. You can go forward in confidence. Thanks. doing that. So, but everything that you do has to line up with the scriptures, with the word of God. And when you do that, you'll see the, the tangled paths of your life start to straighten out little by little, little by little you will see a change.

You'll see things starting to change. And take hold of that hope that we talked about. So, let's pray about this one too. So, Father, we just come before you and Lord, we just ask that you help us to lean on you and to confidently trust you. It's not easy for us to do that, but as we get to know you, Lord, we just, we just know that.

That you're just going to show us how faithful you are and that you understand us, Lord. So, we just acknowledge you right now, and we just put our faith and our trust in you, Lord, that you will direct our paths. We don't know which way to go, Lord. We just ask you. We depend on you. We rely on you. And Father, we just thank you that you know which way we should go and that you'll tell us and you'll help us, Lord.

Thank you for rescuing us out of our troubles and delivering us. We just praise you and glorify your name. [00:19:00] And we ask those these things in Jesus. So, the next one falls in line with that, that last verse. This one says, I, the Lord, will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

So, what this is really saying is that when we look to the Lord, he'll instruct us, he'll teach us. Sometimes That's leaning on wisdom of others like you, you know, if you had someone that gave you a good counsel, could be a counselor, could be a pastor, could be a good friend who has wisdom you know whoever, there could be someone that is in your life, or maybe not, maybe it's just God will just counsel you himself, but he will lead you in the way that you should go, and it says that last part of this verse, my eyes with my eye upon you, so he's not just leading you and shoving you off and away you go now.

No, he's watching you watchfully to make sure that you're still okay. So that's where prayer comes in. We keep our eye on him. Thank you Lord for that wisdom and thank you that you're going to keep an eye on me. You're going to watch me as I go. You're going to stop me if I make mistakes.

This is all part of trusting and [00:20:00] faith in God. So that's that verse. You know, so people have a lot of troubles and we need wisdom. We need wisdom and knowledge. The word also says that people perish, basically fall apart because they don't have wisdom. They don't have knowledge. The chapter in Proverbs 4 pretty much begs us that the word of God right there says, get wisdom.

Wisdom is the principle thing. Hey, by the way, you need wisdom. Don't forget to use wisdom. You know, it goes on and on about that repeating over and over and over again. So, this is chapter four Proverbs, Proverbs four, five, six, and seven, get skillful and godly wisdom, get understanding.

Discernment, comprehension, and interpretation. Do not turn your back on the words of my mouth. Don't forget about wisdom. Don't leave it behind. Forsake not wisdom and she will defend and protect you. Love her and she will guard you. So, wisdom is actually your safeguard.

Using wisdom keeps you out of trouble. The beginning of wisdom, get wisdom, skillful, godly wisdom, for skillful and godly [00:21:00] wisdom is the principal thing. Wisdom is the principal thing and with all you've gotten and get understanding, discernment, comprehension, interpretation, get wisdom, prize wisdom highly and exalt her and she will exalt and promote you.

What more do we need to say about wisdom? The Word of God is definitely telling us to get wisdom and to use it and apply it to our life because if we do. We're going to be able to see benefits and will prosper in our lives, in our relationships, in our finances, in our direction, just peace of mind, health, happiness, joy.

We'll have wisdom. We can help others. So I want to pray wisdom over you. Thank you, Lord. That you have reminded us to get wisdom father. And I just thank you father that you are the source of wisdom that your word is the source of wisdom. And thank you. Also, Lord, there's people around us that have wisdom.

Let us in our hearts and minds seek, first of all, you for your wisdom and also be attentive. To any of those people that you put in our past and put around us [00:22:00] that have godly wisdom that know the right thing to do the right way to go. Thank you, Lord, that wisdom is the principle thing and that using your wisdom, using the word of God will help us get out of all the troubles that we're in.

Many of the troubles we're in. We just thank you, Lord, for your word. Thank you for your word about wisdom. And we just pray this and we receive it in Jesus name. Let us receive wisdom and not be bullheaded and think we can manage our own ways. Thank you for that father and so Proverbs 523 is keep and guard your heart.

Okay. This is a really interesting one. Yeah. 523 keep and guard your heart. With all vigilance and above all that you guard basically guard your heart for out of it flows the springs of life. So, guarding your heart when I think of that, I think about don't be tempted to do things that you shouldn't do.

Don't hang around. With people that are going to lead you astray, look for people that are happy people to be in your life relationships with people that are happy. Don't get drawn into relationships that are bad. Don't get [00:23:00] drawn into habits that are bad. That's what it means. Keep and guard your heart because your heart can lie to you. Your heart can lead you astray. Your heart can tell you, you know what, this is really good. I really feel good about this. But you have to say, is this wise? Am I making a wise decision? This is what these scriptures are talking about.

Verse 25 says, let your eyes look right on with fixed purpose and let your gaze be straight before you. Don't get distracted with things that are going to pull you off of what you should be doing. So that was number seven. So, getting near the end. I want to really share with you so that you really get a good, a good picture in your heart and in your mind of how to use the word of God, how to pray into how to benefit from prayer.

So, number eight is that every bit of confusion, every trouble and heartache the answer to that is found in the Word of God.

Become a God seeker. Use the scripture as a force against anything wrong in [00:24:00] your life. Become a prayer warrior. Fight. That's what we're talking about. The book, the shadow light that we were talking about earlier when I wrote that. I'm not trying to promote that. I'm just saying that's what I was trying to accomplish.

Look at what's going on in your life and realize that there is a force against you trying to turn you away from the way you should go from walking in godliness and righteousness and having the Jeremiah 29:11, the good life God has planned for you, spiritual warfare, be a be a warrior and pray, and you can cancel out and knock these things off of your life very easily with prayer, very easily.

You just pray and you'll see the evidence of God in your life. Pray and keep praying, stand your ground. Do you know that many people don't move forward in life because they're afraid. They've been hurt in the past. With the word of God and prayer, You don't need to be afraid. You just stand and you just believe in faith that God is there for you.

He has that good plan for you and you can move forward. I can only think of 1 reason why people wouldn't want to pray. They don't know how [00:25:00] good God is when you get through this and you're praying. You're trusting God. You're believing in his word. You're speaking. You're going to know that God loves you.

You're going to know who he is, and you're going to be able to continue because you'll know how he, how good he is. You're going to see the evidence in your life. When you know, Jesus, there's no room for fear. We can be afraid about all kinds of things.

You know, there's a lot to be afraid of. But when you have Jesus in your life, you have God in your heart, you're praying, prayer chases away those fears, and you can actually stand in confidence. My Bible is pretty much left open to these. John 14 one, absorb this into your mind as you listen to this.

Do not let your hearts be troubled, distressed, agitated. You believe in and adhere to and trust in and rely on God, believe in me, rely on me also. So rely on God. Don't let your heart be distressed. Don't be troubled. Then he says, peace. My own piece that I now give a bequeath to you, not as the world gives to you, remember, I said that I should be on the [00:26:00] floor and not, you know, a mess.

Well, you know what? With the peace of God, peace that passes understanding, you go, well, why is she so calm about that? She should be freaking out. No. And I trust God. So, this is that verse peace. I leave with you my own piece that I now give given bequeath to you. It's like an inheritance. Not as the world gives to you.

Do not let your heart be troubled. Don't be afraid to stop allowing yourself to be agitated, disturbed and do not permit yourself to be fearful, intimidated, cowardly and unsettled. So sometimes I'll get up in the morning and I'll feel like I don't even know why I'm stressed or distressed about something that I am.

So, I take these verses and I, read them, I absorb them and I'm like, What am I thinking? There's nothing to be worried about. God's got me. It's all good. So that's what these verses are. So, I want to pray about these verses right now. Pray these over your life. Father, just thank you that you have given us peace, Lord.

And we know that peace is received in [00:27:00] faith, Lord. If you're afraid or agitated or concerned or fearful, we can stand in your peace. And if there's a war raging around us in the spirit, it cannot even come near us because we're standing in your shadow. Psalm 91, Lord, I'm thinking of that right now.

So, thank you, Father, for the peace that you give to us, Lord. We just thank you that in times of trouble, Lord, that you're there to rescue us, Father. We just thank you, Lord, that your word is true and alive, Lord. And just thank you, Lord, that we don't have to be troubled, that our hearts neither need to be troubled or concerned or agitated anymore, Lord.

We just receive this in Jesus name, Lord. We just thank you, Lord, that the peace that you give us is received by faith so anyone can have it. We just have to ask for it and just take it in Jesus name, which is thank you for that father. I also want to just finish off with this last verse is John 14 verse six.

And it says, Jesus said to, to him, I am the way that your life, no one comes to the father [00:28:00] except through me. And you have to know when we pray, we've, you've heard me say that we pray in. Jesus name scripture. Jesus is the door. Jesus is the way to God. Jesus took our sins and that's how we have access to the father it's through Jesus.

So that's why we say in Jesus name. So, the bottom line is God is good. God has a good plan for you. Read the word, pray the scriptures, believe in prayer and watch your life change. It's only going to get better. I can tell you that for sure. 

JKO: Thank you so much. 

Sherry Van Dolder: Thank you. 

JKO: So, you heard what Sherry said. You heard the prayers. And the thing about this is that we want to help each of us be able to pray scripture over ourselves and over our situations. So being able to take a scripture and fly it in prayer over yourself and your situation. Cause no matter what, The life, what life throws at you, what the enemy throws at you, [00:29:00] there is power in the word of God.

And that word will become an anchor for you. It will be your weapon against the machinations of hell, the manipulations of the enemy, and even negative thoughts that's coming up in your heart, your own voice. That is negative the word of God will counter it. So do it and like I said, messy won't stop you. 

Thank you so much for listening. See you next time!