2003-03-12
Good Morning Cherished Readers,
What a privilege it is to start each day with God! I feel like He is wrapping us in His arms and saying, “It’s okay. No matter how tough your day is, I’ll be right here with you to help you get through it. Now, go forth and serve Me.” Who could ask for a more loving Father than we have? His Spirit leads me to continue writing about how defensive prayer works, and He has given us a treasure trove of helpful words to elucidate what we need to know, so we will be fully prepared to deal with Satan successfully.
While I was away on my Cursillo weekend, one of God’s servants there spoke powerfully about PHIL 4: 13, “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.” Then, he brought up some of the challenges we face as examples. Finally, he had as recited two words which will always stick in my mind, “BELIEVE IT!” God doesn’t lie; His word is true from top to bottom. This speaker was absolutely on the mark. It points out that if we learn, believe, and transmit Scripture with accuracy, we too can remind our listeners to “Believe it!” Now, let me cite EPH 1: 18-20 once again, and you know what two words will follow it from me. “I ask that your minds may be opened to see His light, so that you will know what is the hope to which He has called you, how rich are the wonderful blessings He promises His people, and how very great is His power at work in us who believe. This power working in us is the same as the mighty strength which He used when He raised Christ from death and seated Him at His right side in the heavenly world.” And yes, BELIEVE IT!” What this all-important statement is saying is that once we came to faith, we were given the same power the Father used to raise Christ from death to eternal life to carry out God’s work. That includes battling Satan and the forces of evil to victory, claimed on the grounds of the cross. It also applies to doing good as defined by what the Father teaches in the Bible. It applies to all of this, and that’s a lot! As long as we remain faithful to obeying, trusting, and loving the Father and His Son, we possess this power, should believe in it, and should use it in accordance with the Scriptures. There are times when this will take courage, because it will mean getting out of our comfortable places. But, this is what we are commanded to do. Nothing worth anything in this life comes easily. There is a cost to being Christ’s disciple, His ambassador on earth. However, RO 8: 17-18 reassures us that the cost here is nothing compared to the sharing of God’s glory that we will have as joint-heirs with Christ to His permanent Kingdom.
Having said all of that, I testify that prayer is a powerful weapon against evil. I’ve seen it in my own life and in that of others I serve through our congregation’s prayer chain. EPH 1: 22-23 helps us to understand why this is true. “God put all things under Christ’s feet and gave Him to the church as supreme Lord over all things. The church is Christ’s body, the completion of Him Who Himself completes all things everywhere.” No relationship can be closer than the head and the body. They are one vital union indwelt by one Spirit. When we realize that Christ is “the visible likeness of the invisible God” [COL 1: 15], we gain illumination on just what the connection between God and believers really is. This is powerful, Dear Ones, and we mustn’t miss the significance of it to our lives. The church is the “eklesia” in Greek, a word which means “a called out assembly,” and in this case, this assembly is called out from the world between Pentecost and the Rapture, saved by marvelous grace, and given the unique privilege of being the Body of Christ. The church is the complement of Christ, that which fills up and completes Him. Christ is the “fullness of Him Who fills all in all.” Far from needing anything to fill up any lack of completeness, the Lord Jesus is Himself the One Who fills all in all, who permeates the universe and supplies it with all that it needs. This is too much for us to understand with our human limitations, but it indeed what God ordained. When a member of the Body of Christ prays to the Head, his prayer is heard. If it is in keeping with what the Head has taught-the Father’s will-the request will be fulfilled [JN 15: 7]. BELIEVE IT!
At this point, I feel it is necessary to revisit JN 15: 14-16, because of how it allows us to understand our relationship as believers to Christ and the Father. “And you are My friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because a servant does not know what his master is doing. Instead, I call you friends, because I have told you everything I heard from My Father. You did not choose Me; I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures. And so the Father will give you whatever you ask of Him in My name.” Think of how this impacts the praying we do. We’re in on the Father’s plan, which means we know what we should pray for, as we know His will. Moreover, we’ve been given important and effective combat intelligence on how to deal with Satan’s fiery darts and on Satan himself. When you know about your enemy and his habits, you have a much better chance of fighting to victory against him. We also know the fruits of the Spirit from GA 5: 22-23, and these prepare us to gain that “fruit which endures” that Christ speaks of in JN 15: 16. We already know we are God’s friends from RO 5: 10-11. Do, Dear Ones, the next time we go up against the forces of evil, know that our prayers can be effective against Him, and that we, as members of the Body of Christ, can win the battle. We’re fully equipped. BELIEVE IT!
PRAYER: O Lord, we are often in need of stronger faith. That is why we sometimes allow Satan to hit us with doubts, especially when we are told we have such tremendous power to do Your will and haven’t accepted this fully in our hearts. While empowered and authorized to come against Satan in Christ’s name, we are also charged with the responsibility to doing so in accordance with Your teaching and that of the Son in the Scriptures. It is the will of our hearts, Dearest Abba, not to let Satan talk us into the lie that we cannot overcome his evil efforts to thwart Your plan. We acknowledge our utter need for Your direction and that the only way we can know and remember Your plan for us is through daily study of Your word. When we keep Your plan in mind at all times and take the time to ask, “What would Jesus Do?,” when making decisions, we can pray and/or take action which carries out Your will. A great motivation for us to stay centered in You is to see the work You do in our lives and those of others. The Psalmist understood this who sang, PS 69: 32, “The humble shall see their God at work for them. No wonder they will be so glad! All who seek for God shall live in joy.” What an amazing promise in view of all the evil-doing that goes on! And yet, it is true. Part of that joy comes from knowing You are our supreme and sovereign God Who never does evil and can always be trusted. Part of it comes from the power You give us to fend off the forces of evil. And, part of it comes from knowing that we have so much to anticipate when we gain eternal life with You. We thank You for giving us a different perspective on our trials that Satan would have us see. We humbly confess our sins and offer You our adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, trust, obedience, glory, honor, thanks, and praise forever. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, I’m led to carry on with our examination of how defensive prayer works. Our loving God gives us the courage to keep on fighting evil, to keep on believing in Him, to keep on being grateful and uplifted by the blessings He showers on us, and to keep on believing that the hope of our resurrection is no empty promise. There are times when we are present when a fiery dart from Satan lands on someone near us. It may be the onset of illness, emotional oppression, physical want, or whatever. God has empowered us through prayer and His direction for taking apostolic action to counteract that. We are not the solution of the person’s problems, but we are part of God’s power to offset evil. There are times when the outcome of our efforts isn’t what we expect. But, we may rest assured that if we have obeyed God’s command, the outcome is for righteous reasons-even the death of a loved one. With faith, the Father has told us that our departing loved ones will be greeted warmly and will walk streets of gold hand in hand with Him. That person who was ill will be fully healed. So, Dear Ones, never stop praying for all of God’s children (and may I add, all of those who might potentially come to faith). For, that is God’s will. When we do the Father’s will, we experience love not found from any other source in the universe. Peter and I send each of you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn