A re-post on spiritual warfare.
Much of our praying is just asking God to bless some folks that are ill and to keep us plugging along. But prayer is not merely prattle: it is warfare.
~Alan Redpath (1907-1989)
The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.
~ Jesus, King of The Universe, in Luke 10
Oh beloved, it is true. This fool of a writer is naught but a soldier in the battle. He is my Captain. But, i am one of His mighty men. He has shown me some of the things in the Ages to come that go beyond my copious attempts to put them to paper.
And mostly, He has given me the ability to see evil. It is terrible. Evil is not bright and shiny. It is foul and fetid and putrid and dying. But in its fallenness it has a terrible propensity to pull us down with it. And too often, we go along with it.
i am no better. There are so many schemes of the evil ones, that it is impossible to even begin to comprehend the time-shifting, lying, dividing, sectioning, and morphing of these beings. And so, in my own hubris, i can be sucked into the lies going on around me.
Yesterday, i entered into my second half-century. My life has taken me places that astound even the dreams of adventurers. i have cheated death in the mountains of Costa Rica, and outrun a terrorist chase vehicle in Palestinian Territory (really). i have survived terrible medical crises and bankruptcy, and the death of so many things for which i have dreamed.
However, there is one adventure upon which i have not fully embarked. i am still yearning for the day that i care not a whit what others think of me or say to me. The final frontier of the final death of my ego is a goal not yet attained.
And so, in the mix of my own weakness, then multiplying the leverage through exploitation of the weaknesses of those around me, the birthday i had actually turned into a spiritual melee. My ego yearned for someone to simply celebrate my day in a tangible way, and all i actually received for my birthday was a post-it note from my youngest son (which was very cool) and a passing chant of happy birthday from my sick wife. In all of this, i did not hear from any of our other kids around the world (read: prime space for my own ego to be bruised).
Then, later that night my wife was literally attacked by a spirit of sickness that amplified an existing cough in her. This spirit has attacked her for years, and generally does it just as we are to make a breakthrough to a new level. But seriously, i am tired of the imp. This thing jumped on her again, and got her literally choking – and i finally lost it.
Like a maniac i got up and started yelling and cursing at this thing, and rebuking it in Jesus’ Name. The years of the lying and damaging this thing had done to my wife just took me completely over the edge. i went back in the bedroom, and anointed my beloved and the walls of our bedroom with oil and invoked the Name of my King.
The thing went away. She did not cough for the rest of the night.
Still, in the midst of it all, another one took a foothold and twisted something i had said to my wife and made it seem as though i was speaking against her. Somehow, my wife bought the lie, and within moments was thinking i was speaking these things against her. Within moments, she was thinking and saying that our relationship was over… It was completely unreal.
Even so, Truth wins. In crying out to Him in Spirit and in Truth, the Captain restored order to my home within minutes. And through a night of fitful dreams, He taught me the ways i had erred and continued to show me His reality and strength.
And then, He healed more than that. He showed me that the attack was staged. Actually, He told me hours before it happened too, but i doubted. Then though, the greetings for my birthday came in from across the world, and my beloved wife showed up with a beautiful birthday card at work.
G_d wins. And through the night of battle, He brought my ego nearer to its death, and brought some healing to my wife’s areas of weakness as well. It was a hell of a night, and worth every minute.
So, are you in a battle beloved? Ask Him for help. For surely He is with you. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. Fear not! Neither be dismayed.
