Having to face several "strange" trials of late which came upon me unexpectedly...
...has caused me to reevaluate my walk with the Lord. There was misinformation and lies from individuals who meant me harm, leaving me to deal with some unpleasant situations.
For me, it was a wake-up call, and a much needed one at that. Having to experience spiritual warfare at deeper levels than ever before has made Scriptures such as 1 Corinthians 10:12 more relevant than ever. For it says, "If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall." Yet at the same time, these trials and spiritual battles have allowed me to see how much more I need to know about my adversary, the devil.
But what I needed the most was a better understanding about prayer. That while I have always made prayer a priority, my prayer life, I have come to see, was mostly in the defensive realm, and not enough in the offensive realm. And when the Holy Spirit showed me this, it was as if a light went on in my head.
As I reviewed my prayer life, I began to see that most of these prayers consisted of requests for protection from all kinds of attacks, such as demonic assaults on my physical body, and on my mind, as well. I would ask God to bless me with peace and joy, and for overall strength. And these are indeed good things
to pray for.
But now the Lord has awakened me to the need for more aggressive prayers in which I boldly use my authority as an anointed and Spirit-filled child of God, to come against evil in the name of the Lord. That it's now time for more forceful praying, as I stand in faith, being fully confident that "No weapon formed against me shall succeed" (Isaiah 54:17). As a child of God, my battles are the Lord's.
And as little David did, who was yet to become Israel's future king, when he saw Goliath the giant arrogantly mocking God's people, he decided to take matters into his own hands. David picked up some small stones, grabbed his humble slingshot, and charged forward, showing no fear. He then killed the hulking giant with one well-placed shot (full story: 1 Samuel 17:1-58).
And while Christians do not wrestle with people (Ephesians 6:12), I cannot help but to admire David's boldness as he fearlessly charged his enemy. And I, too, want to do the same, but by using the Word of God and prayer as weapons (Ephesians 6:10-18) against the spirits of wickedness and evil in the heavenly realms.
Nevertheless, I am continuing to pray for those who hate me, asking the Lord to be merciful to them. Yet at the same time, I want them to leave me alone. As the psalmist pleads, "Let God arise and His enemies be scattered: let them that hate Him (and His children)* flee before Him" (Psalm 68:1).
D.B.
*Parenthesis mine (my prayer)
Note: The entry above has been edited for those who may not understand what Christians mean by "spiritual warfare." Our battles are not with people ("flesh and blood") but are done in the spirit (Ephesians 6:10-18), which means through prayer and by speaking the Word of God over our situation.
Jesus tells us to pray for and bless our enemies (Matthew 5:44). This pleases God because He wishes that none would perish (2 Peter 3:9), but that all would repent [confess and turn from our sins], believe in His Son (Romans 10:9-10), and become His children (John 1:11-12).
We all have "Goliaths" in our lives from time to time (1 Samuel 17:1-58), but our battles belong to the Lord. God is faithful to never leave or forsake His children. And as the Apostle Paul reminds us (Romans 8:31), "... If God is for us, who can be against us?"
For me, it was a wake-up call, and a much needed one at that. Having to experience spiritual warfare at deeper levels than ever before has made Scriptures such as 1 Corinthians 10:12 more relevant than ever. For it says, "If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall." Yet at the same time, these trials and spiritual battles have allowed me to see how much more I need to know about my adversary, the devil.
But what I needed the most was a better understanding about prayer. That while I have always made prayer a priority, my prayer life, I have come to see, was mostly in the defensive realm, and not enough in the offensive realm. And when the Holy Spirit showed me this, it was as if a light went on in my head.
As I reviewed my prayer life, I began to see that most of these prayers consisted of requests for protection from all kinds of attacks, such as demonic assaults on my physical body, and on my mind, as well. I would ask God to bless me with peace and joy, and for overall strength. And these are indeed good things
to pray for.
But now the Lord has awakened me to the need for more aggressive prayers in which I boldly use my authority as an anointed and Spirit-filled child of God, to come against evil in the name of the Lord. That it's now time for more forceful praying, as I stand in faith, being fully confident that "No weapon formed against me shall succeed" (Isaiah 54:17). As a child of God, my battles are the Lord's.
And as little David did, who was yet to become Israel's future king, when he saw Goliath the giant arrogantly mocking God's people, he decided to take matters into his own hands. David picked up some small stones, grabbed his humble slingshot, and charged forward, showing no fear. He then killed the hulking giant with one well-placed shot (full story: 1 Samuel 17:1-58).
And while Christians do not wrestle with people (Ephesians 6:12), I cannot help but to admire David's boldness as he fearlessly charged his enemy. And I, too, want to do the same, but by using the Word of God and prayer as weapons (Ephesians 6:10-18) against the spirits of wickedness and evil in the heavenly realms.
Nevertheless, I am continuing to pray for those who hate me, asking the Lord to be merciful to them. Yet at the same time, I want them to leave me alone. As the psalmist pleads, "Let God arise and His enemies be scattered: let them that hate Him (and His children)* flee before Him" (Psalm 68:1).
D.B.
*Parenthesis mine (my prayer)
Note: The entry above has been edited for those who may not understand what Christians mean by "spiritual warfare." Our battles are not with people ("flesh and blood") but are done in the spirit (Ephesians 6:10-18), which means through prayer and by speaking the Word of God over our situation.
Jesus tells us to pray for and bless our enemies (Matthew 5:44). This pleases God because He wishes that none would perish (2 Peter 3:9), but that all would repent [confess and turn from our sins], believe in His Son (Romans 10:9-10), and become His children (John 1:11-12).
We all have "Goliaths" in our lives from time to time (1 Samuel 17:1-58), but our battles belong to the Lord. God is faithful to never leave or forsake His children. And as the Apostle Paul reminds us (Romans 8:31), "... If God is for us, who can be against us?"
