2003-03-17
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Before going on to offensive prayer, it is really necessary for us to examine some examples of people who feel like their demons are overcoming them and what can be done about it with prayer. We all have different demons. Some of us drink too much; some of us suffer from depression. Others can’t seem to keep up in school, and still others, hate their jobs and/or the bosses for whom they work. More people arose from dysfunctional homes where there was emotional or even physical and sexual abuse. Some battle to quit smoking, and others have been subjected to the lies of false teaching. There are too many demons to list them all here. Prayer may alone solve some problems, but is usually linked with difficult, courageous God-driven action in finding a solution.
Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, paid a tremendous price for us when He suffered and died on the cross. His Atonement bought us out of the marketplace of slavery to sin. We who repent and come to faith in Him now have the choice as to whether we will sin. RO 6: 6, “And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on His cross, in order that the power of the sinful self mighty be destroyed, so that we should no longer be the slaves of sin.” Repeatedly, I’ve written that God had sent Christ to earth not only to open the way to our salvation, but also to learn empathy for our suffering, so He could open the heavenly Holy of Holies [HE 9: 12] and plead there for us with the Father as our High Priest, Advocate, and Intercessor [HE 4: 15 & 8: 1-2]. Christ’s own words in JN 8: 31-32 give us illumination on what a gift this courageous and obedient act of faith on His part is. “So Jesus said to those who believed in Him, ‘If you obey My teaching, you are really My disciples; you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” How often we take our freedoms, both spiritually and nationally, for granted. And yet, this spiritual freedom is the freedom from a fate of sure spiritual death in the lake of fire and sulfur, conscious torment for eternity. That’s huge! Nationally, we don’t often enough give thought to the myriad of soldiers who have given their lives so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have. When we know and understand the truth from daily time in God’s word and prayer, we know how to please God, to serve Him, and to be His friend. We begin to appreciate what He has given us.
By spending time in God’s word and in prayer, we get to hear God’s response to our pleas. IS 41: 10-14, “Do not be afraid-I am with you! I am your God-let nothing terrify you! I will make you strong and help you; I will protect you and save you. Those who are angry with you will know the shame of defeat. Those who fight against you will die and will disappear from the earth. I am the Lord your God; I strengthen you and tell you, ‘So not be afraid; I will help you.’ The Lord says, ‘Small and weak as you are, Israel, do not be afraid; I will help you. I, the holy God of Israel, am the One Who saves you.’” Remember, as believers Gentiles are now “in-grafted” to the cultured olive tree [believing Israel], so this wonderful promise belongs to all believers, the Jews first and also the Gentiles [RO 11: 16-24; RO 1: 16]. These comforting words are there for us whenever we seek God out, confess our sins, and ask Him for cleansing forgiveness. I know this from personal experience. When I first came to the congregation I’m now in, I had a big problem. I had taken care of my temporal responsibilities and even done considerable service for my former congregations. But, I was spiritually starved, running on empty. I asked God to help me out of this spiritual condition, because I knew I was broken. Even people who know the Scriptures well can be broken, if what they study doesn’t sink deep into their hearts, and God hasn’t been given the opportunity to inwardly transform us by the renewal of our minds [RO 12: 2]. My first step was to approach someone very respected in the Christian community for help. I explained to him that I am a Messianic Jew who feels she is called to show others in the Christian community the connections between the OT and NT, i.e. the Jewish roots of Christianity. “All well and good, “ he said, “but you need to take care of your relationship with Christ first..” Then, he told me to pray and open my heart to God.
Not bad advice! God will indeed do the rest, because He loves each of us with all His heart. RO 8: 28, “We know that in all things God works for good with those who love Him, those whom He has called according to his purpose.” Sadly, not enough people overcome the fears they have about their demons to turn to God. Prayer helps us experience the things of God and friendship with Him. PS 18: 3, “I call to the Lord, and He saves me from my enemies.” My enemies were weak faith, an imbalance between my work life and my spiritual life. I was too much of an intellectual and not enough of a child of God when I came to this spiritual crisis. All I can say all these years later is look what God has done for me. He has brought me to falling madly in love with Him to the extent that I am compelled to write these messages five days a week and write prayer requests for our prayer chain of 145 people. To God belongs all the glory for this! My example is only one insignificant one from so many; no one has ever counted all the people whose lives have been saved and made better by true faith in Christ. Today, we must examine our own demons and see if we are willing to ask God for help with them. Then if we do, listen for God’s answer; if He gives us a command, then we must obey it.
PRAYER: O Lord, You are an awesome God Who has blessed all Your children with profound love. We lift our hands up to You in worshipful reverence to say, “Thank You, Dear Father, for sending Your Son to the cross, giving us the chance to be saved, for giving us the courage to repent of our sins, and for seeing to it that we had the faith to believe in Him.” Your goodness satisfies the hungry soul full of longing for You. The Psalmist expresses what is in our hearts in PS 107: 8-9, “Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds, for He satisfies the thirsty, and the hungry He fills with good things.” You have led me this morning to PS 33: 13, “The Lord looks down from heaven and sees every person.” This is something we can celebrate. The only people who would be frightened or angry about this are those who habitually sin and reject You. Your tremendous power can not be measured, and You always use it for righteous reasons. You are unselfish in Your omnipresence, because You have time and presence for all who suffer and turn to You. As David pled in PS 31: 1, so we can plead. “In You, O Lord, I put my trust; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in Your righteousness.” When we came to faith in Christ, You generously imputed our accounts with righteousness, i.e. we were justified. PS 143: 6, “I lift my hands to You in prayer. As a dry land needs rain, I thirst for You.” You have promised us in PS 32: 8, “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with Mine eye.” Today, we beseech You to help us place our demons at Your altar by confession of them and to direct and help us to take whatever steps are necessary to overcome them. This is our prayer in Christ’s holy name. Amen.
The Spirit led us to the truth that prayer helps us to experience God and to be His friends today. There is more to say about that and other points to be made about how defensive prayer works. Tomorrow, I will begin by recapping our list on this subject and sharing other points not yet examined. Our God can do the impossible [MK 10: 27]. He can lift a raging alcoholic from the morass of his condition and bring him into faith. He can take anyone He chooses from a condition of drug-induced stupor to deep and abiding faith in Christ. I have seen this happen. He can heal the ill, give direction to the confused, and spiritually nourish the starved. PS 145: 8-9, “The Lord is loving and merciful, slow to become angry and full of constant love. He is good to everyone and has compassion on all He made.” My life is living proof of that, and I’m only one out of countless many. God has even given us a way to see His perspective on physical death, thus allowing us to accept the death of loved ones. He directed His Son to say in MT 11: 28-30, “Come all of you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke and put it on you, and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the burden is light.” God loves each of You, and so do Peter and I.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn