Give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless. With God we will gain the victory, and he will trample down our enemies. Psalm 108:12-13
Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:11-12
The Old Testament without the understanding of the New Testament (and vice versa) can make us think we are all there is to creation.
I’ve found there is nothing more powerful than praying in agreement with others. I’ve also found there is only one way to truly pray in agreement and that is by allowing the Holy Spirit to voice our prayers. In my experience, this happens most often when there is more silence than talking in the group praying.
When we voice our prayers from what is only on our minds, we tend to see the enemy as the people around us. When we allow the Holy Spirit to word our prayers, the power of God and the love of God reveal the true enemy. The love of God causes us to pray for that person who is persecuting us.
That enemy is not flesh and blood. That enemy cannot be seen or experienced through our physical senses. The enemy is often manifested through people which is why we end up praying for God to remove individuals from the influence of those we love. But the heart of God is to separate the enemy from those people who are being used as weapons by the enemy. The power of God’s love in our innocent children may be the very ones who trample down the enemy.
The Old Testament provides example after example of the insignificance of the strength of man. If our enemy is another person, then outnumbering that person would be all we need for victory. Gideon discovered this truth. Sometimes we can outnumber the people but if we really want lasting victory we need to listen to God. (Read Judges 7) Otherwise, we will constantly be in battle.
What battles are you fighting?
Is your prayer against a physical instrument or the spiritual enemy?
What battles do you see in our country, in the world, that are focused on people rather than the true enemy?
How can you pray and encourage others to recognize that even our political battles are not against flesh and blood?
3 comments:
the wacky thing is that we are actually supposed to pray for our flesh-and-blood enemies. -- Alan
Praying for our human enemies in no way implies letting them be used as a tool to crush us while we do so. Nothing wacky or contradictory present. You can easily pray for someone's deliverance from evil while also binding them from harming you.
I agree completely "anonymous". My concern is that we sometimes forget that when we have a human enemy, there is a person oppressed by evil and we should never forget that. We should also never fail to seek God in how to respond and as you said "pray for deliverance while also binding them from harming you." Well said. We have the authority to bind the powers of evil. Why that doesn't always happen when we pray has to do with the already/not yet of the kingdom. We are under the authority of Jesus Christ. We have a deposit guaranteeing what is to come but not yet the fullness of God's kingdom. :) Thanks for your comment - your addition is true and beneficial.
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