We have experienced a backlash from the enemy on a few occasions when pushing forward in prayer and engaged in spiritual warfare. The enemy hates to lose ground and will try and re-establish himself/his stronghold and it is important to be aware of this and stand firm when the assaults come. Recognising them and their origin is key to dealing with them. Attacks can come in all forms & guises -doubt, fear, jealousy, arguments, strife, lies – the fiery darts, the barbed words – even from family and friends – and other Christians. These attacks always seems worse when our guard is down, we are tired or feeling a bit low and discouraged. They can knock us back and cause us to retreat, but I hope you will feel encouraged by our testimony not to give up but press forward into what God is calling you to do. Submit to God, resist the enemy and he will flee from you. Quench his fiery darts with the shield of faith, rebuke the barbs and forgive those who deliver them.
Fear seems to be a weapon of choice of the enemy. If the enemy can instil fear in us then we can be overcome. Faith and trust in God are essential when faced with these types of attacks. The word of our testimony and the blood of Christ are keys to overcoming. I have a few examples from my own experience which I feel led to share. Early in our prayer ministry my friend and I had just finished a deliverance session and were praying to cast out other demons when she felt a scratch on her throat. She didn’t think much about it at the time but the next day her throat had swelled and she was admitted to hospital with trouble breathing. She said it felt like a vice around her throat. She couldn’t speak. I can’t tell you how much this frightened me but I also knew that this was the work of the enemy. All sorts of thoughts were going around my head though. I felt fearful that my friend was going to die and guilty that she was in hospital because of me. I was really struggling and wanted to give up and not carry on with any future deliverance ministry or spiritual warfare. This was all a strategy of the enemy to bring fear into my life and stop the prayer ministry. These were lies of the enemy but I was taking it all on board. Thankfully, we cried out and prayed to God about the whole situation. We gave it to Him and the Lord told us to trust him, not to fear but to go and anoint our friend with oil and she would be healed. We duly went to the hospital to do this, but God in his faithfulness had already gone before us to prepare the way. One of the elderly gentlemen at our church was in the hospital visiting someone else, had seen my friend and prayed and taken communion with her. She had felt a lot better after communion and once we had anointed her with oil, her throat immediately felt better. She could speak properly and the restriction and swelling in her throat went. Later in the day though after we left, my friend took some medicine which the doctor in the hospital prescribed and immediately her throat got worse again. She recognised the cause -when the medicine was prescribed she felt in her spirit that she didn’t need it but instead of declining it she took it. Immediately she felt ill again and so she repented of taking the medicine and her throat was healed. This taught us that the enemy is always looking for a way back in and to cause us to doubt our healing- he just wants to kill, steal and destroy.
On another occasion, after another time of intense prayer for our area a witch came into our church to presumably try and place a curse on me or cause me some sort of harm. On the morning, the Lord had warned me that a witch was going to come into the church but not to be fearful. I had not mentioned this to anyone in my fellowship group as we generally all sat together. On the morning, one of the stewards came towards us with a woman who we had never seen before. He explained that she was new and she had asked if she could she sit with us. I immediately recognised that this was the witch that the Lord had warned me about. I did not say anything and we all welcomed her. I don’t think anyone else knew that she was a witch at that time. She took a seat directly behind me and next to some of my other friends. During the time of worship, I noticed that she had her hands pointed out towards me – at the small of my back. A friend who was sitting next to me suddenly turned to me and said that the Lord had told her to tell me that I was standing in His circle of protection and that no harm would come to me. She had seen a picture of me and it looked as though a glass shield was all around me. I was encouraged by this and took no notice of the woman behind me although, I could tell she was getting very agitated by this time and more agitated as the worship went on. Whatever she was trying to do with her spells or curses clearly wasn’t working. The Lord told me to turn around and tell her that He loved her – He really loved her and had died for her. She just nodded and smiled at me and then at the earliest opportunity left and we never saw her again. I hope she remembers those words though and if she hasn’t already, finds Jesus as her saviour. Jesus died for everyone even those who oppose him. Jesus’ heart was love for that woman and we are commanded to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us.
God is faithful and He is our defender and protector. I love the words of Psalm 91 – “I will say of the Lord “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him will I trust. Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night. Nor of the arrow that flies by day, Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.”. Thank you Lord.
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EagleSight 