2003-03-10
Good Morning Treasured Readers,
It would seem reasonable to ask amidst a discussion of defensive prayer how it works. That is what the Spirit is leading me to write about today. In reviewing EPH 1 and 3, I found a lot of good information on how defensive prayer works. So, for the next few days, we are going to really examine it.
The way we structure our prayers says a lot about our own maturity in the faith. We all know that immature people put themselves first and foremost. However, that is not what someone mature in the faith does. He puts God first. EPH 1: 3, “Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! For in our union with Christ He has blessed us by giving us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly world.” I had to be reminded of Pastor Bruce Wilkinson’s story of the warehouse in heaven with shelf after shelf of white-wrapped boxes tied with red ribbons. You’ll remember in that in this metaphor, the guide who opened the warehouse for the newcomer answered the question of what all this is by telling him these boxes are God’s blessings. He said they are blessings God is eager to give, if only the faithful will seek Him out and ask for them. Our awesome God loves us so much that He can’t wait to shower His blessings on us. He can only do that when we endure in our faithful obedience to Him and seek Him out. So, if we are looking for a step one, it must be acknowledge God for His grace, power, compassion, unselfishness, and love given to us every day of our lives. Thank God for everything He is so willing to do in showing us His love, even through we hardly deserve it.
Our step two has to be what we find in EPH 1: 6, “Let us praise God for His glorious grace, for the free gift He gave us in His dear Son!” How can we be so ungrateful as to forget even for a minute that our salvation came through Christ’s suffering on the cross and His blood shed for us? We should never forget 1 COR 11: 23-25, “For I received from the Lord the teaching that I passed on to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took a piece of bread, gave thanks to God, broke it, and said, ‘This is my body, broken for you. Do this in memory of me.’ In the same way, after the supper He took the cup and said, ‘This cup is God’s new covenant, sealed with My blood. Whenever you drink it, do so in remembrance of Me.’” We hear these words from our pastors every time we take the sacrament and should never take them for granted. So, first we thank God, and then, we praise Him. This is very different than just going to God in prayer and beginning with our own supplications. This way, we are putting God first.
There is some very important combat intelligence that we have, and EPH 1: 9-10 has outlined it for us. “In all His wisdom and insight, God did what He has purposed, and made known to us the secret plan He had already decided to complete by means of Christ. This plan which God will complete, when the time is right, is to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth, with Christ as Head.” This is further illuminated in COL 1: 19-20, “For it was by God’s own decision that the Son has in Himself the full nature of God. Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to Himself. God made peace through His Son’s death on the cross and so brought back to Himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.” One more verse that simply must be shared here is JN 14: 6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Me.” Those are Christ’s very own words, and He never lies. Oh, how Satan wishes he could interfere with that! But the truth is, he can’t.
By knowing God’s plan and keeping JN 15: 5 & 7 in mind, we have the knowledge we need to construct an effective prayer to defend ourselves against Satan’s misdeeds. So, step three has to be: know God’s plan by studying the Scriptures daily. I testify to the fact that each time we revisit a particular verse or passage, God will teach us something more that we didn’t know about it. Believe that He will one day, sooner than we think, will establish His Kingdom, and know that that’s where we want to be.
Our need to praise God even more before asking for our own desires is apparent from EPH 1: 12, “Let us, then, who were the first to hope in Christ, praise God’s glory!” When we think about it, we are highly privileged to have been called to faith, chosen to be saved, and given peace with God. The alternative is unthinkable! Any examination of the other belief systems that exist reveals that people adhering to them never know the peace we get to know with God, never become God’s friends. That is not the case with us. RO 5: 10-11, “We were God’s enemies, but He made us His friends through the death of His Son. Now that we are God’s friends, how much more will we be saved by Christ’s life! But that is not all; we rejoice because of what God has done though our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has now made us God’s friends.” Yes, Dear Ones, we are both God’s servants and His friends. There is too much to say about this all important subject of how defensive prayer works to complete it in this message. So, this discussion will be continued in tomorrow’s. If we really think about it, Satan doesn’t have a chance when we love, trust, and obey God, and we should recognize that. We should take time to examine our own lives for where Satan is sending us fiery darts, so that we can use the power Christ has given us to send Satan packing. Prayer is a powerful weapon against the adversary, and we should never forget that!
PRAYER: O Most Heavenly Father, I follow the advice You have given us, through Paul, by beginning today’s prayer with thanks to You and acknowledgement of Your marvelous attributes. Thank You, Dearest Abba, for calling us to faith and giving us the equipment to answer that call. No other deity has ever invited what he claims to have created to have faith in him and thus, be so richly blessed. You put out that call, knowing we didn’t deserve it and were slaves to sin. No other deity tells the truth all the time and is always righteous. You are and awesome God, and we thank You for being Who You are. As we study the Scriptures, we can’t help but discover all Your attributes, because that is the principle way that You reveal Yourself to us. Your glory is so great that Moses came down from Mt. Sinai needing to wear a veil over his face, because Your reflection on Him shined so brightly that the people were afraid to go near him [EX 34: 29-25]. And, that was only Your reflection. Imagine gazing upon Your glory directly! And yet, that is what You have promised each of us who endures in faith that we will do in Your Kingdom in REV 21: 23-24. We offer You praise and thanks for giving us Your Son to die on the cross for us, so that by our repentance and faith in Him, we might be saved. You always knew that we would be sorely tempted to sin, and so You have given us a way out of that. Even through we are subjected to buffeting from the forces of evil, You have given us the Holy Spirit, so we could understand Your word and know how to fend them off. You gave us the right to claim victory over the adversary on the grounds of the cross. Satan hates that. We are sinners with many imperfections, which points out our utter need for You in our lives. You accomplish being present and are able to guide us out from these snares by means of the gift You have given us of the Holy Spirit. We known now that we can confidently come to You and ask You for what we need, because we know Your plan for us and Your will. We approach Your throne today to humbly confess our sins and offer You our adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, trust, obedience, honor, glory, thanks, and praise. In Christ’s holy name, we pray. Amen.
What a glorious God we have to love us! When He sent Christ to be incarnated and to suffer and die on the cross, He was preparing the Son to have the compassion and empathy He needed to become our Advocate and Intercessor in heaven [HE 4: 15]. Christ’s death tore down the inner veil, giving us access to the heavenly Holy of Holies [HE 9:12]. Thus, He and the Holy Spirit [RO 8; 26-27] take our prayer requests to the Father and plead with Him on our behalf. Our compassionate and loving God is eager to hear our prayers and answer them [PS 116:1]. So, Dear Ones, who could ask for anything more? We are a blessed people and bask in the warm glow of our Father’s love for each of us. Peter and I send each of you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn