Category: Spiritual Warfare

Fit and ready for spiritual battle?

I hope this post is a help and perhaps a timely reminder for us all to be aware of some of Satan’s strategies against us as Christians. We tend as believers to have differing attitudes to the spiritual realm. At one end of the spectrum, some Christians are unaware that satan is working against them and do not think about the spiritual realm and so do not recognise and resist him, whereas at the other end, some blame satan when anything at all goes wrong and by doing so give too much credence and focus on him. This can mean that we do not take responsibility for our own actions (we just blame satan) and we do not discern rightly between good and evil. Our eyes should always be on God who is all powerful and Christ Jesus who is raised up and seated in the highest place of authority and power and be filled with His Holy Spirit. Beware of looking for the devil in everything as this takes our focus from God which is not a healthy place to be but also let us not be ignorant of satan so that he has influence in our lives.

1 Chronicles ch 7 v 11  “ All these the sons of Jediael, by the heads of their fathers, mighty men of valour, were seventeen thousand and two hundred soldiers, fit to go out for war and battle”.

These verses in the Old Testament talk about these soldiers of Israel who could be called upon at any time to go out to war. They kept themselves fit and prepared.

As Christians we don’t sometimes think we are soldiers in a spiritual battle but:

Consider these Questions:

Q. As a Christian do I recognise that I have a spiritual enemy?

Q. Am I bold (as a lion), fit (prepared) and ready to deal with any attacks against me?

Recognise the enemy

Who is working against me?

When you become a Christian and are redeemed, you have a restored relationship with Father God through Jesus. You move from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. You have an inheritance in Christ, restored relationship and the promise of spending eternity with God. Satan hates you because of this. Satan and his demons actively work against the Saints of God looking for ways to deceive, hinder, confuse, silence and rob us. Satan’s strategy is to work under cover as much as possible in a hidden way so that he can do the most damage.   He doesn’t want to be discovered and will always try to work undetected. He certainly does not want his influence to be exposed.

A Christian who understands and applies the finished work of the Cross of Christ, Jesus’ resurrection victory and the position and authority that they have in Christ is a threat to Satan’s kingdom and plans.   When we start to live out our faith, pray, read the Bible, stand up for God’s truth, justice, righteousness, witness to others etc. then satan wants to hinder us as much as possible. When you actively start to move against his kingdom by praying against his strategies, pulling down strongholds, casting out demons etc. then he is going to fight back. That is when we need to know that we are like those OT soldiers and fit and ready for the battle and prepared in God. The battle always belongs to God and He teaches us when and how to engage. How to defend ourselves and the weapons of our warfare to enable us to do so.

Knowing satans strategy;

It’s important to understand some of satan’s main strategy against us. The Apostle Paul says:

 2 Corinthians 2: 11 “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his strategies.”

Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

Wiles = Schemings. Satan is a schemer who is extremely devious and very subtle.

Ephesians 6:10 tells us to stand strong in the Lord relying on His might and power and resist satan. We put on (our responsibility) our spiritual armour of the belt of truth, helmet of salvation, shield of faith, breastplate of righteousness, feet shod with the gospel of peace and sword of the Spirit (Scripture/Gods Word) are our protection against those attacks and schemes. We are to use our spiritual armour, pray and when we have done all, stand firm on the rock and foundation of our faith, Christ Jesus our hope and ever present help.

Traps

1 Timothy 3: 7 “lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”

We must be careful to avoid any traps which satan would set for us. Traps can take various forms in our lives and our weaknesses are often open to being exploited. We all have them. It could be pride, desires of our flesh, unforgiveness, fear, strife, disunity and the lure of knowledge and power, these are just some of those traps to be avoided.

1 Peter 5:8. “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour”

As we read and meditate on Scripture we gain an understanding of how satan works so that we will not be ignorant (uneducated) of his strategies.   Ignorance is certainly not bliss when it comes to these things. God wants us to have understanding and be wise. The Bible is our sword and God expects us to know how to use it, to appropriate the finished work of the Cross of Jesus, His victory and His resurrection. There is a verse in Hosea which says “My people perish for lack of knowledge”.   Satan is a legalist. He is looking for a way into our lives and will manipulate anything to his advantage. He is a liar and deceiver.

The Bible exhorts us to give him no place in our lives. Ephesians 4: 27 “Neither give place to the devil.” If satan gets a foothold in our lives it can soon develop into a stronghold if we do not submit to God and resist satan. If we yield to his influence instead of resisting him and submitting to God then he will bring us into bondage in one form or another. Sometimes we become so immune to the conviction of the Holy Spirit through the hardening of our hearts that we don’t realise what trouble we are in.

Some of Satan’s strategies:

Identity – Satan will attack our identity in Christ and introduce doubt about God’s word and promises to us who are His children who are loved by Him just as he did to Adam and Eve. My friend pointed out this to me recently. When Jesus was baptised, God said “This is My son in whom I am well pleased“. When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness he first tried to cast doubt on Jesus’ identity by saying “If you are the Son of God”. How subtle and crafty is that. Jesus knew He was God’s son but He avoided satan’s trap by not seeking to prove it by miraculous power and signs and being disobedient to God. Beware of attacks on your identity as a child of God. Know your identity in Christ. Your position in Christ and your authority in Christ.

Mark 1:13 “And he (Jesus) was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan”

Temptation – Satan will try and tempt all of us. Jesus knew how to deal with satan’s temptation. He knew the truth, God’s Word and used the Word to rebuke Satan. Jesus did not give in to temptation. We recognise temptation and ask ourselves -Will giving in to this temptation be obedient to God or disobedient. Jesus who empathises with our weaknesses and was tempted just like us, but did not give in, intercedes for us before Gods throne and will help us overcome temptation.

Be aware that satan knows our weak areas. The bible shows us that temptation can come through the lusts of the flesh, lust of the eyes (we see it we want it) and being tempted to do things independently of God – Pride.

Satan knew King David’s weakness – women. David saw Bathsheba bathing (lust of the eyes), wanted her and gave into the lust of the flesh.   It didn’t stop there however – he manipulated the situation so that her husband was killed in battle.   A really wicked thing to do. However, after the prophet Nathan confronted him David confessed his sin and was forgiven. David could write Psalm 32 about the joy of forgiveness because he experienced the incredible mercy of God. God will always give us a way out of temptation and will strengthen us that we can resist.

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. – 1 Corinthians 10:13

As the Bible shows us when temptation comes, which it surely will, find that escape route and get out of there quickly. Escape temptation whilst you can and have the opportunity. Avoid putting yourself in those tempting circumstances especially if you are still struggling with weakness in an area and will find it very difficult. If you have truly overcome the temptation then you may be to do it but still be wise.

Accusation – When we fall, which we inevitably do, satan is right there to accuse us and hit us when we are down.   Accusation is always from the enemy and never from the Holy Spirit who brings conviction of sin, not accusation. Satan will hit you with thoughts such as “Call yourself a Christian doing something like that” “How can you be effective for God after what you’ve done” or he’ll just bombard you with negative thoughts about yourself.   He is the master of discouragement.

Revelation 12: 10 “for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”

Don’t give in to those accusations. You will end up distancing yourself from others because of shame, will try and hide from God and will spiral downwards. Confess your sins, repent and be restored.

Deception – I think this is his greatest strategy against us. Right at the beginning, he deceived Adam & Eve. He distorted the truth and deceived them into disobeying God’s commands. Satan and his demons are liars and the root of deception and falseness. Jesus warns us against being deceived.

Jesus said of satan in John 8:44 “ He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it”

 Revelation 12:9 “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world”

 Satan will seek to deceive us into believing his lies. We need to be aware of the following:

 Self-deception. Neil Anderson who wrote “The Bondage Breaker “ uses the following examples from scripture.

We deceive ourselves when:

a) We hear the Word of God but don’t do it – James 1:22;

b) We say we have no sin – 1 John 1:8 – Keep short accounts with God, Confess our sins as we are convicted by the Holy Spirit;

c) We think we are something we’re not – Rom 12:3 – we are warned not to think too highly of ourselves, be humble;

d) We think we are wise in this age– 1 Cor 3, 18-19 – we need to always rely on God and not our own understanding;

e) We don’t bridle our tongues – James 1:26 – gossiping is a no-no. How often do we fall into that subtle trap!

f) We think that we won’t reap what we sow – Galatians 6:7. God is not mocked.

g) We think that we can continually keep in with the wrong company and not be corrupted- 1 Corinthians 15:33. Bad company corrupts.

 False Prophets and Teachers. Jesus warned us about false teaching and false prophets.   We should not just believe everything we read and hear – The Bible instructs us to weigh and test things.   There is teaching all around us now – We can listen to it on social media, TV, the radio, read it in books. God’s Word is the ultimate authority and plumbline by which we should be measuring.   Any teachings, words of prophecy, wisdom, knowledge etc are to be tested against God’s Word and come under the Word of God. They are to submit to God not the other way around.

Satan will counterfeit the things of God – false miracles, false tongues, false prophecies, false gifts etc. The Bible says:

 1 Thessalonians 5:19 “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; 20 do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22 Avoid every kind of evil”

 Mark 13:22 “For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect–if that were possible. 23 So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time”

2 Peter 2:1 “But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who brought them–bringing swift destruction on themselves. 2 Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute”

 Deceiving Spirits.

 1 John 4:1 “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world”

 1Timothy 4:1 “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.”

 As satan is such a master of deception it is not easy for us to recognise and discern his deceit. The gift of discernment from the Holy Spirit is invaluable in this respect. I encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of discernment. Neil Anderson recommends the following type of prayer to guard against and expose deception:

 “Heavenly Father, I commit myself unreservedly to your will. If I have been deceived in any way, I pray that you will open my eyes to the deception.   I command in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that all deceiving spirits depart from me and I renounce and reject all counterfeit gifts or tongues.   Lord, if it is from you, bless it and cause it to grow so that Your Body the Church may be blessed and edified through it. Amen”.

 These strategies of Satan often start with thoughts planted in our minds.

 If evil spirits can put a tempting thought in our minds, put a negative thought in our minds, deceive us into thinking something is right or harmless and

 WE DO NOT TAKE THAT THOUGHT CAPTIVE TO CHRIST THEN

 THE THOUGHT CAN BECOME AN IMAGINATION i.e WE DWELL ON IT

THEN THE IMAGINATION CAN IF WE DWELL ON IT TOO LONG BECOME A STRONGOLD AND SATAN IS EXERCISING SOME CONTROL OVER OUR THOUGHTS AND BEHAVIOUR

Half the battle is actually recognising where these thoughts are coming from. Most of the time we think these thoughts are coming from us when they’re not.   We can win this battle in and through God when we;

 2 Corinthians 10: 5 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

 I think Deception is the most difficult area for us because we generally know when we’re being tempted or accused but we do not immediately recognise or come to recognise when we are being deceived. This is why the belt of truth is vital in our armour as it is the truth of God which exposes the lie.

Satan is always looking for a way in.   He is a legalist – He is looking for that gap in the hedge of protection around us which we can open up when we go astray from God’s Word and His paths of righteousness. Let us encourage each other to keep ourselves rooted in Christ, submitted to God, recognise the works of the enemy and rebuke him. The bible tells us that satan will then flee from us.

Blessings to you in Jesus name.

How beautiful on..

The mountains are the feet of Him who brings good news 😀

I have some good news to give you today which some of you already know (but it’s encouraging to be reminded) and to some it may be the first time you heard.

Jesus is alive.

Hallelujah Praise God 👏👏👏👏

He has conquered sin and death.

Jesus is seated at the right hand of God with all things under His feet …..that is all demonic principalities and powers which are beneath His feet. Colossians 2:15

I read something the other day that concerned me regarding the power of demonic forces. Reference was made to the outcome of a battle which the prophet Elisha had said would be won by the Israelites but instead they were defeated when the King who was losing sacrificed his own son at the walls. The battle was turned. This story in 2 Kings 3 in the Old Testament shows us the power of blood sacrifice.

However, the posting seemed to suggest that the unleashing of demonic forces against the body of Christ and prophetic words which had been given could overcome God’s will and stop it being fulfilled.

I did not have peace about this. The Lord reminded me that this story is in the Old Testament and was before Jesus came and His sacrifice which changed everything. We are living in the power of a NEW COVENANT OF HIS BLOOD.

The Lord wants to remind us of the truth that there has never been a sacrifice more powerful than the one made by Jesus when He gave up His position with His Father in heaven and came to this earth He created and died for us.

The sacrifice of Jesus and the shedding of His blood 🩸 was more than sufficient to deliver us from the power of sin and darkness and to break all curses and the effects of sin off our lives.

There is no blood sacrifice that can be made now that is more powerful than the blood of Jesus. One precious drop of Jesus blood 🩸 which fell to this earth and was shed for each one of us is more powerful than any demonic sacrifice which is or has ever been made to the enemy or occult powers.

That King we read of in 2 Kings 3 1-27 certainly knew the power of the blood sacrifice especially of a son. Jesus was the son of God who became our sacrifice. That is the most powerful sacrifice there has ever been made. No one took Jesus life from Him. He freely laid down His life for us.

When you pray remember the position that you know pray from. Remember that you are seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus who is in authority over all principalities and powers and rulers of darkness.

You have the mind of Christ. You are part of the body of Christ and the body is connected to the Head.

Is Jesus worried about Satan’s strategies and attempts to manipulate? No because Jesus knows all things and Satan has been defeated by Jesus.

Connect your mind and thoughts with the mind of Christ and pray with authority against the wicked strategies of the enemy and pull down His strongholds.

Is there a war going on? Yes there certainly is but we are soldiers of Christ and we come from and fight from a place of victory to push back the enemy and to enforce the victory of the Cross.

We should never forget the finished work of the Cross and the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The bible tells us in 1 John not to believe every spirit but to test it to see if it is of God because many false prophets have gone out into the world. The test is this “Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God”.

Any word that denies Christ and the power of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and resurrection must be tested against the word of God.

I want to encourage you to remain rooted and firm in your trust and faith in Jesus Christ who is all powerful and victorious and is seated now in the highest place and at the right hand of God who has put all things under His feet.

Be encouraged by these words in Colossians.

Colossians 1. 13 “ He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the Kingdom of the son of His love in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. V 20. And by Him to reconcile all things to Himself by Him whether things in earth or things in heaven having made peace through the blood of His cross”

Colossians 2 v 8. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit according to tradition of men, according to the principles of the world and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and you are complete in Him who is Head of all principality and power.

V15. Having disarmed principalities and powers He made a public spectacle of them TRIUMPHING OVER THEM IN IT.

Lift up your heads oh you gates and be lifted up you everlasting doors and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of Glory ..The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads oh you gates Lift up you everlasting doors and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of hosts is the King of glory. Psalm 24 7 -10.

Jesus said that He will build His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Why not? Because He is the King of glory spoken of by David in the Psalm and the gates of hell could not stand against him. He descended into hell and took the keys of death and hell and He has them now. Amen

Bless you this day in Jesus precious name.

A divided Kingdom will fall – pray for the United Kingdom

This morning the Lord led me to read Daniel 5 and the account of Belshazzar’s feast. During the feast a finger divinely appears on the wall and writes. This sight terrifies the king and he wants to know what the words mean as no-one can read them. Daniel is brought in and he interprets the words as:

Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin

He tells the King that the meaning is this: God had numbered Belshazzar’s kingdom & finished it. Belshazzar had been weighed and found wanting. His Kingdom was now going to be taken from him and given to others.

Belshazzar had not learnt the lessons of the past from his own father’s (Nebuchadnezzar) experience and was brought down by pride.

I believe that God is warning us that we, the United Kingdom, are in danger of being brought down because of Nationalistic Pride.

I have written below the words I heard from the Lord this morning in my spirit:

My eye has been over the kingdoms of the earth since the beginning of time. I have watched them rise and I have watched them fall.

In the time of Daniel, my servant was shown the mystery of the kingdoms of the earth and how they would be brought up and brought down.

I have measured each one in My hand and all have been found wanting. Not one earthly kingdom has measured up fully to the calling that was put upon it and the mantle which covered it.

The kingdom that you live in (the United Kingdom) is a kingdom about to divide itself again.

For a kingdom divided against itself, such as your kingdom is now, cannot stand.

The day is approaching faster than some can see – that the kingdom will divided. This is not part of My divine plan for your nation but is an inevitable outcome if they continue in this way. If each one takes continual power for themselves and decides what benefits their own nation rather than the collective then this kingdom will fall.

It is an inevitable consequence unless there is a repentance and turn of heart and each nation truly joins together for the common good of all. Divided they will fall otherwise.

May My people pray for a turning to occur in the hearts of those who govern these nations. May they humble themselves and rid themselves of nationalistic pride but rather seek the good of all. United they stand but divided they fall.

Pray for the unity of the kingdom before it cleaves itself completely and then it will not be able to fulfill the destiny calling to which it has been called for the last days.

This is the day for coming together and not tearing itself apart.

I was reminded of Jesus words in Matthew 12:25 – “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.”

I believe that we are stronger together as a kingdom rather than as individual nations. Nationalistic pride is a stumbling block. Each nation that makes up the United Kingdom – Scotland, England, Wales & Northern Ireland is important and has a voice that should be heard but no element should be favored above the other. Let each work together for the benefit of all.

Lord we pray that you will open the eyes of those who govern our nations and the ministers of each nation of Scotland, Wales, England & Northern Ireland. Lord let them see the division that is occurring. Open their eyes Lord and convict their hearts. Let their hearts be softened and let truth be received. Reveal nationalistic price and let all be truly repentant and turn instead in humility to working for the common good of all in equality and for unity. Let there be true unity among those who govern our nations. Let the stumbling blocks of pride be removed.

Let them lead us, the people, by example and let their example Lord then bring change in us. Let us all Lord come together as one – truly united in You our sovereign God.

Lord reveal the demonic plans of the enemy to bring division and stir up hatred. Let the enemy be undone and let his plans to divide this nation come to nothing. Lord we pray that your Will is achieved in us and that you use the United Kingdom powerfully for your purposes in these days ahead Lord. Amen

Photo by Artem Beliaikin on Pexels.com

Gideon’s army

This was a word which I had in 2018 when praying but I feel led to share it again in this season: 

I sensed the Spirit was saying this to me:

“In the beginning was The Word and the Word was God.  

There is power in My Word.   Whatever, I declare from heaven concerning a matter or a nation will be performed.

My angels act on my commands.

My Word is powerful.

My Word is creative but also destructive. It can build up or it can tear down and root out.

Whenever I speak, My Word will perform whatever it is sent forth to achieve.

I have declared a new time and season – a new day for the church.  

Too long she has been weak, ineffective and struggling like a new born babe. Now she will rise up with renewed energy and VIGOUR.

She will have learned how to use the tools with which I have armed her so that My Kingdom can advance.

It is time to take the Kingdom (God’s) and push forward.

To take the light into the darkness.

I do not need a vast army to achieve my purposes.  

Only those who are willing to persevere, willing to count the cost, those who are bold, those who have courage, who take their strength from Me.  

Those will be part of My army.  

Those who are skilled in My Word, those who know their position, those who listen and obey.  

They will receive the words to speak and declare in My name.  

They will see My wonder working power at work. They will be My vessels to bring healing, holiness and salvation to nations.

I am on the move.

My body the Church needs to discern where I am leading in this season.

It is not time for the faint hearted, the men pleasers, and the timid.  

This is the season for those who fear the Lord and show reverence and fear.

Those who love righteousness and hate wickedness, injustice and wrong – to be willing to stand up and be counted.  

To be the carriers of My presence into all situations.  

Everyday situations where I have placed them – whether home, work, family, government, schools – everywhere they find themselves.   They can have an impact.

Now rise up and go to war on the enemy -Satan. Pull down his strongholds and declare that his time has come to an end in this region.  

There is a new King in town (Jesus).  

A new Kingdom (Jesus’) being established and the enemy (Satan) is to be trodden underfoot and trampled. 

Satan’s troops, his spirits will have to flee in the presence of My army.  

Gideon’s army is on the march.

It is time to advance.  

Take the gates and push back the darkness. Amen 🙏

The Horse Gate

This gate speaks of battles and as Christians we are in a spiritual battle.     We have an enemy, Satan,  who doesn’t want us to mature spiritually and discover the fullness of who we are in Christ.     The enemy will try and discourage you, hinder you and stop you.     He will do what he can to put thoughts into your mind and build strongholds there to frustrate your Christian walk.     He will try and deceive you, tempt you, cause you to be fearful,  to give up because you are weary, frustrated, anxious and being a Christian just seems too difficult.

Let us not give up but let us fight the good fight.    Ephesians 6 says “Finally, my bretheren be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armour of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand.

Stand therefore having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, and above all taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

God has equipped us through the power of the Holy Spirit and the authority of the word and Christ with the ability to stand against and overcome our enemy.   The bible says that when we submit to God, resist the enemy then the promise of God is that “he will flee”.      Jesus said that he overcame the world and so we can too.

The Warrior’s Prayer

The Warrior’s Prayer   (Author unknown)

Heavenly Father,

Your warrior prepares for battle.

Today I claim victory over satan by putting on the whole armour of god

I put on the Girdle of Truth

May I stand firm in the truth of Your Word

So I will not be a victim of satan’s lies

I put on the Breastplate of Righteousness

May it guard my heart from evil

So I will remain pure and holy,

Protected under the blood of Jesus Christ.

I put on the Shoes of Peace

May I stand firm in the Good News of the Gospel

So your peace will shine through me

And be a light to all I encounter

I take the Shield of Faith

May I be read for satan’s fiery darts of

Doubt, denial and deceit

So I will not be vulnerable to spiritual defeat

I put on the Helmet of Salvation

May I keep my mind focused on you

So satan will not have a stronghold on my thoughts

I take the Sword of the Spirit

May the two edged sword of your Word

Be ready in my hands

So I can expose the tempting words of satan

By faith your warrior has put on the whole

Armour of God

I am prepared to live this day in spiritual victory

Amen.

 

Beware the backlash

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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Rooting out the enemy

The enemy has a strategy against individuals and fellowships but our God knows all things.   Through prayer, revelation, the power of the Holy Spirit and the authority we have in Christ, we can root out the enemy, expose his strategies and demolish his strongholds.

Some years ago the Lord revealed to us that the enemy was at work in a local fellowship and was hindering the gospel message which was being broadcast into Asia by a radio station associated to that church.    We were loosely involved with the church because one of our ministers was helping the local minister with the church.  He was also a patron of the radio station and broadcast an evangelical message regularly.

We were first made aware by the Holy Spirit that there was a problem when our minister became ill and the Holy Spirit revealed that he was under a spiritual attack.    As we prayed for him, the Lord revealed that the source of the attack was from demonic influences in that church.    The Lord confirmed to us that if we went to the church, He would reveal the source of the attack and the demonic strongholds which needed to be brought down.

We prayed and agreed to visit the church with our minster.   Not all of our group on the first visit but a few so that we did not attract attention and stand out.    The Lord impressed upon us that we must be completely surrendered to Him and walking in His righteousness, authority and truth.   If we were not then the enemy would have advantage of us.

During the evening service, the local minister asked if everyone who was involved with the work of the radio station would stand up.  The Holy Spirit led us to pray for them and the minister felt led to ask us all to leave the church and go to the radio station to pray then and there.    We felt this was the Lord revealing to us that the source of the enemy’s work was in the radio station and this was the leading of the Holy Spirit.     We had a very powerful time of prayer in the radio station.  The Lord confirmed that he had heard and would answer our prayers and things would happen fast.  Strongholds would be broken in His name.

The next week after our prayer time at the radio station, I was met by the minister before the church service who was very agitated and said that “all hell had broken loose since we prayed”.    The local minister had been arrested after the radio station manager claimed that the minister had stabbed him.   We knew that this was an attack of the enemy and was designed to strike fear into our hearts so that we would stop praying.  We also believed that the Lord had exposed the root of the enemies’ stronghold.  The Lord impressed upon us that we should not fear but should trust in Him, press on and we would see the victory.  It was a very serious situation.   We sought the Lord, prayed about everything – especially our fears and anxieties but we declared that we would stand and trust our God.   We particularly prayed for the local minister who was in police custody, for him & his family to have peace and for the truth to be revealed.  During the week that followed, the police discovered CCTV footage which completely exonerated the minister and he was released from police custody.   The radio manager had actually stabbed himself and tried to frame the minister.    The Lord had exposed the lies, the work of the enemy and delivered his servant.  The radio manager was subsequently fired.

The next step for the release of the church and as part of the preparation to pull down the strongholds was through worship.   One of our group, who was anointed in worship, took a few people to lead worship and sing in the church.    During the worship time there were various pictures and a tongue and interpretation which encouraged the congregation to press into God.  The barriers which were stopping them from pressing in were going to be demolished.   Jesus was going to light a fire among them and release them from their chains.

We then took a group to pray around the church building itself on an evening when the building was empty.   Whilst part of the group was out praying, the rest stayed behind to cover them with prayer.    On the way to the church, we just knew that there was an angel in the car with us.  I could clearly see this angel in the spirit seated on the rear seat.   He was armed and ready to assist us as we prayed.    When we arrived we prayed at the front doors of the church and pleaded the blood of Christ all over the building.  The Holy Spirit revealed several demons in the church building.   We could see them in the spirit and took authority and cast them all out.   We saw in the spirit and had a peace that they had departed.   At the next Sunday service the people testified that the atmosphere in the church was different, they had enjoyed the best time of worship and praise and that the heaviness/restrictions that they normally felt had gone.

The last part of our prayer strategy involved going to the radio station building to pray at midnight.   We had a picture of demonic figures in the radio station building itself and that this was the time to go, cast them out and break the strongholds.   Before we went in the physical we spent time in prayer fasting and seeking the Lord and his battle plan.   We made ourselves ready as the Lord directed us.    As part of the preparation the Lord led us to pray over the building in the spirit.    As we prayed we saw ourselves in the building itself, moving up floor by floor and praying and pleading the blood of Christ over the whole of the building sealing it for the Lord.    We bound the enemy and claimed every part of the building and the radio station for the Lord.

We were then ready to go out to the radio station to pray at midnight.   We met and strengthened ourselves in the Lord, prayed and anointed ourselves with oil.   Again, some remained to pray whilst the rest went.   We had felt that it was important that our minister accompanied us for this time of prayer and he agreed to come.   The Lord had told us that we would be accompanied by His angels and that the battle would be fierce but short.  We were to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.   We went in His authority.    The Lord’s instructions were to order all of the demonic powers that were in that place back to hell itself.    We went and did everything as the Lord led us to do and had such a blessed time of prayer.   We knew that the enemy had been cast out and his plans had been brought to nothing.   In the spirit we saw an army of angels encamped all around the building and when we cast the enemy out we saw great hordes of black demonic spirits leave the building.

The fruit of this time of prayer was that the next week the radio station received more responses to the gospel message than they had ever had before.  More people came to know Jesus and gave their lives to Him.  Praise God.   We believe that the enemy had been interfering with the communication of the gospel message through the radio station and that once his influence was removed the gospel message was received loud and clear.    It says in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that the enemy blinds the minds of those who do not believe lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.    We believe that those blinds were removed in prayer and the light of the gospel shone forth.   As Paul says the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.   Be bold in prayer, be led by the Spirit, take up your authority in Christ and believe in faith that the strongholds will come down for the glory of God.

 

 

Praying and declaring from a high place

If you feel the call of God and prompting of the Holy Spirit to go up to a high place in your area, city, region or town, wherever it may be,  then I encourage you to do it.  Seek the Lord before going and ask Him to reveal the strategy for your prayers and why He is calling you to this specific place.     We were led by God to pray to Him and declare the Word of God and prophetic words from a high point overlooking our area,  the Clent Hills.    We believe that this was a very strategic place.  A place that had been and was being used by others for purposes which were not of God and were corrupting and influencing our area.   It was a place that we needed to speak out with authority God’s Word and promises over our area for change to happen.

We spent a number of evenings in prayer seeking God before going out on this prayer walk as we believed that God had a specific strategy for how we should pray.   The Holy Spirit led us to a number of scriptures – Isaiah 59 – “When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Lord raises up a Standard against Him” and “Arise, Shine for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord is shining upon you”.  Isaiah 60.      Isaiah 59 says “So shall they fear; The Name of the Lord from the west; And His glory from the rising of the sun,  When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a Standard against him; The Redeemed will come to Zion and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob says the Lord.   As for Me says the Lord – this is My covenant with them; My Spirit who is upon you, and My Word which I have put in your mouth shall not depart from your descendants.”      God gave us instruction to carry a standard with us when we climbed the hill – a red flag with a picture of the Lion of Judah on it.     By carrying the flag we were making a declaration of the truth of this scripture to the enemy.   We had a picture of God’s Holy Angels being released into the area for God’s purposes – a vast army – to battle with the enemy.     Amos 4 v 13 says “For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind, Who declares to man what his thought is , And makes the morning darkness, Who treads the high places of the earth – The Lord of hosts is His Name.   God was releasing His angels to help us – We declared He is the Lord of hosts.  We also believed that we were “lifting up a banner for the peoples” – Isaiah 60 v 10.

Psalm 24 was a key in preparing us for this time of prayer walk.   “Who may ascend the Hill of the Lord?   He who has clean hands and a pure heart and who has not lifted up his soul to an idol, Nor sworn deceitfully”.      The Lord searches our hearts and any unconfessed sin has to be dealt with.     It was really important for us to take time to ensure that our hearts were right before God before going into prayer warfare such as this for the area.   The heart is deceitful above all things so we allow the Holy Spirit to bring revelation to us and confess it before each other.

The Lord also gave us a word to declare from Amos 4 “Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, “Bring us wine, let us drink!”  The Lord God has sworn by His holiness:   “Behold, the days shall come upon you when He will take you away with fishhooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.  You will go out through broken walls, Each one straight ahead of her, And you will be cast into Harmon” says the Lord.

A word also about wicked Rulers Micah v 1-4  – “Hear now, O head of Jacob, and you rulers of the house of Israel:  Is it not for you to know justice? You who hate good and love evil.  Who strip the skin from My people, And the flesh from their bones, And chop them in pieces like meat for the pot, like flesh in the cauldron”.   Then they will cry to the Lord but He will not hear them; He will even hide His face from them at that time, because they have been evil in their deeds.”      Leaders cannot do ill, oppress those underneath them who they should be protecting and expect God to hear them.

In our prayer time there was a tongue and the interpretation.  This was to be an invitation to abundant life and call to repentance.  – Isaiah 55 1-13.  “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money Come buy and eat.  v6  “Seek the Lord while He may be found.  Call upon Him while He is near.  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts.  Let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God for He will abundantly pardon.”  v12  “For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands”.

Also, Hosea 6: 1  “Come let us return to the Lord.  For He has torn us but He will heal us.  He has stricken but He will bind us up.  After two days He will revive us.  On the third day He will raise us up that we may live in His Sight.  Let us know.  Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.    His going forth is established like the morning.  He will come to us like the rain.  Like the latter and former rain to the earth.”.

We fasted on the day that we were to do the prayer walk.   We felt called to do the prayer walk on a particular date.   On the evening of the prayer walk, we took communion together at the bottom of the hill.   We prayed and spoke from Psalm 121. – God the help of those who seek him.    “I will lift up my eyes to the hills – from whence comes my help?  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth”.   We then walked up the hill, praying and singing as we went.   We played the song by Robin Marks – “Shout to the North” – “Men of faith rise up and sing, of the great and glorious King.  You are strong when you feel weak, in your brokenness complete.  Shout to the North and the South, Sing to the East and the West, Jesus is Saviour to all, Lord of heaven and earth”.   We felt led to walk in a certain order – I walked first as in a spearhead and then we came two by two with a rear guard as well.    We also brought a Shofar with us to blow from the top of the hill and a compass so that we would know which direction we were facing when declaring the Word.

We waved the flag at the top of the hill as we prayed to the north, south, east & the west and declared all the scriptures which God had previously given us.    We poured water and oil onto the ground as led by the Holy Spirit.   We then asked for the angelic host to be released to do God’s will in our area,  to carry out His orders, to help people and to battle the enemy.   We blew the Shofar and called to the wind to blow, for the wind of God to blow across our area and in that moment the wind completely changed direction.    If we had not been flying the flag, we would probably not have noticed the change in direction and we believe this was a sign from God.  We believe that God had heard our prayer and something had shifted in the spiritual realm.  Praise God.

Before we went to pray, one of our group had wanted to start a fire on the hill but we did not have peace about this particularly as open fires were forbidden.   It did not sit right in our spirits to break the law and so we gave that to God and refused permission for that to be done.    When you go to pray as a group you need unity and to be in agreement.   Sometimes,  the leader will have to exercise Godly wisdom and discernment to avoid anything being done which is not right and take authority in those circumstances.  On the evening, as we stood on the top of the hill and looked in the distance we saw a bonfire burning brightly.   There were no other fires in the area and we believe this was the sign of fire which the person had seen in the spirit.   We didn’t need to start a fire the Lord God would do that.   The Lord is an all-consuming fire – He can burn up the dross and purify.    As Elijah called down fire from heaven we called down the spiritual fire of God on our area.   Let us be on fire for God, burning brightly for Him.  Arise, Shine for your light has come, and the glory of God is shining upon you.

Prayers for Stourbridge – Rivers of living Water -Part 2

We were led to go and pray at the bridge over the river Stour just off the Ring Road leading up to Amblecote and also at the canal which is nearby.    We felt led by the Holy Spirit to take a red banner down with us to wave as we sang and worshipped and also to take communion when praying for the town.    We pleaded the blood of Christ over our town and declared the power in the blood of Christ to bring cleansing and redemption and break the power of sin.   Without the shedding of blood there is no remission for sins.   We dropped one drop of the communion wine into the river and canal.    There is more power in one drop of Christ’s blood that was spilt for us than in all the power of evil influencing our town.    The declaration which the Lord gave us to proclaim over Stourbridge was from Ezekiel 47 – the waters rushing in and flooding our area- particularly verses 1-12 -rivers of living waters which get deeper and deeper flowing from the throne of God and which bring healing.  v 8 “This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley and enters the sea.  When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed.  And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live.  There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed and everything will live wherever the river goes.  It shall be that fishermen will stand by it ; there will be places for spreading their nets.  Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, exceeding many.  But its swamps and marshes will not be healed and will be given over to salt.  Along the bank of the river on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail.  They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary.  Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for medicine”.    A picture of salvation, healing & fruitfulness for our area.  Let us be rooted in Christ who is the living water. Amen.  Stourbridge – Wells of Living Water Part 1