Many prayers these days include a blessing for soldiers. It really doesn't matter where the supplication for the troops comes in a prayer; it might be in the middle or added at the end, but it goes something like this: "The Lord bless our troops and bring them home safely." Yes, bless the troops and everyone wants everyone to come home safe. However, this is a very general prayer. People use the verb “bless” because they really don't know what to say. What does “bless” mean? Some people can identify with the soldiers, but most cannot. Some know what it's like to be away and under the pressure of combat, but most don't. An unknown soldier said: "For those who fought for it, freedom has a taste that those who are protected will never know." Christians with admirable intentions raise prayers to the Heavenly Father, knowing that the Lord said in Luke 11:9, "And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; Claiming this promise, the hope of Christians is that to help born-again soldiers in battles fought and undertaken, placing their heart's requests at the feet of the Lord. To be specific in prayers for the fighting forces, education in what a soldier experiences and thinks is a necessity The following is what a normal day might be like at a forward operating base outside of Baghdad: There is no set time for a combat soldier who might wake up at 7:00 or 1:00 2 in the morning depending on his mission stay out of the field for 8 hours or 3 days. It's time to prepare for his mission, he puts on his uniform, after removing the dust, laces up his boots, and puts on his individual body armor (IBA) and Kevlar is a...... middle of paper...... gives qualifications for church leaders. What a terrible shame it would be if soldiers did that if they held a leadership position in the church, they should ask to be removed from the office of deacon, or from the position of Sunday school teacher, because of sins in their life that they might have over victory, but they failed to take the appropriate precautionary actions and failed to prepare their spiritual life for this type of combat. These Christian fighters must seek the face of the Lord daily and guard their hearts with all diligence to be an effective witness to their battle companions. This will ensure spiritual integrity in serving a leadership role in the church, if that is what the Lord wants them to do, when they return home. Pray for the spiritual warfare and physical battles faced by these men and women who sacrifice daily for our country and our way of life.