30 Days of Prayer: Pray to See through the Mask and Resist the Devil (Day 7) - Be Whole, Mom

I’m going to begin this post a little differently than usual, because I feel this urgency within me to just pump out messages and connect with the Body.  For day 7 of the 30 Days of Prayer series I wanted to talk about rebuking the devil, but it strikes me that maybe not everyone has truly internalized the reality of the enemy we have.

He is a crafty serpent, operating under the darkness of night.  He is excellent at deception, and we must be equally equipped for the task.

Recently the Lord saw fit to open our eyes to some other worldly things that are happening around the world.  One of which is something called CERN.  Now, my husband is a big science guy, and has been generally following the project since it’s beginning years ago.  However, a few weeks ago we hit a wall when someone asked us “have you seen their opening ceremony?  The whole darn thing was a demonic ritual!”

Yeah, that caught my attention.  And, we watched it, and it is indeed a satanic worship ritual of some sort, complete with all kinds of underworld imagery.  It even included the distortion of dust and fog to “veil” the eyes of people who are following blindly the zombie-like living that satan wants of humanity.  If you are ready to have your eyes jolted, give it a look here and here .  When a man dressed as the “goat god” came out (also known as Baphomen, and you can check out some biblical commentary on the matter here), we had no doubts left as to what we were in fact seeing.

Evil no longer even needs to hide to thrive.

There were a slew of truly amazing and crazy things that happened after we learned of this, too.  So much that I have been on a prayer storm this past week (and yes, it coincided entirely with this series!)

Guys, I don’t know what the Lord is doing, but I can feel the energy of change in my skin and a racing in my spirit that cannot be settled.  May we all be attentive and ready with the Lord that any time He calls us home we are able to stand before Him in the purity of His cleansing through the faith to which we hold.

On Halloween night, I was deep in prayer.  The day was weighty for me, and I know of many people who experienced pretty intense demonic attacks.  I was led to deeper research, as is my design, and I stumbled upon a former satanic occultist turned Evangelist and his messages about both his former life and his conversion.  His conversion video, especially, had me captivated.

I am including it below, because honestly, we have to really really let it sink in that all of this spiritual warfare stuff is REAL.  The spiritual world IS the real world, while this is but a shell and temporary home.

For some reason, watching this and connecting dots helped me to understand the separation of the Lord’s Way from satan’s even better by providing a better vantage point of how the enemy works.  I liken it to strategic warfare in the military, where a spy infiltrates the enemy’s camp to gain insider secrets and then expose their weaknesses.

This is the beautiful fruit this man provides.  Drink it in, guys.  We need to know the enemy we fight so that we can take seriously the armor with which we are provided and WHY it works!

 

It’s time for a wake-up call.

Now that we’ve had that spiritual jolt of electricity to awaken us out of a sleepy state, it’s time to get to work.

If you are a believer in Christ, if you are a follower of Yahweh, if you love Him above all else and do what He commands, then you are under the authority of Christ, and in that authority we have been given power over the spiritual realm.

Ladies, we have the power to rebuke, bind, and cast out demons.  And seriously, as I write this, I know some will pshh their lips, roll their eyes, and click away.  But, our world is suffering at our hands and we have been given the authority to do something about it.

Prayer is the most powerful spiritual weapon we have!  And how few of us truly use it to its fullness, nor do we know how.  I surely know I don’t dive into prayer nearly to the degree that my spirit wants to.  We have a job to do here, sisters, and it starts first within ourselves, and then within the four walls of our home.

Can you discern the attacks of the enemy?

Our enemy is sly.  He hides and pops up the moment the emotions get raw and tension grows high.  When did he jump in to attack Jesus?  After 40 days of fasting in the desert, when Jesus was MOST vulnerable, most tired, and at His weakest.

He does the very same thing to us.

Have you ever battled the “spirit of heaviness”?  Felt weighed down, burdened, sorrowful without reason, and just completely in a state of emptiness?

Yeah, me too.  Ladies, that is a spirit, but it masquerades as a “feeling” and since we tend to pride on our emotions nowadays, especially the “right to feel” we have grown weak in discerning what is actually going on.

Thankfully, though, the spirit of heaviness can be rebuked and then bound, and you can cloak yourself in the covering of our Abba.  I know there is contention on this topic (binding spirits in the name of Jesus), but if you ever feel that heaviness and deep, un-penetrable hopelessness, give it a try, and let me know what happens.

Be Filled with the Holy Spirit

When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’  When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order.  Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.’” ~ Luke 11: 24-26

I remember first reading this verse group, and it disturbed me.  The concept of spirits leaving and entering and everything just gave me the creeps!

But, truly, this is what is happening with people who are trying to better themselves through their own strength and power rather than the power of Christ in their lives and an obedient heart to God.  We humans really can clean ourselves up really nice, but then the flesh hits again and BOOM.  Worse than before.

…Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” ~ Eph. 5: 18-20

This is why it is so important to be cleansed and led by the Spirit as we walk, rather than the words of men.  When the spirit leads us to address and clean out areas of our inner lives, He also fills us up with Himself in each little corner of our hearts and minds, bringing us into full agreement with our Abba.

As we read the Word, memorize verses, gain an understanding of what the Word is saying, we will be better and better equipped at the warfare we are all engaged in every moment of the day, whether we realize it or not.

We cannot replace a close walk with the Lord with a rote prayer to rebuke and bind the enemy.  This is NOT what the Christian walk is all about.  There is no easy path on the road to salvation.

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” ~ Matt. 16: 24

I know that it is tempting to sit back and excuse time in the Word, but even a little bit here and there pays off over time.  If there is one thing I know it is that God honors even the small acts of obedience we do out of our love for Him.  He is gentle and kind to us mamas, because He knows that our first priority is to our home and our children.  Do not let the enemy push you to believe otherwise.

He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” ~ Is. 40: 11

Do what you can with a wholehearted love, and He will feed and fill your soul.  He’s promised.

Put on the WHOLE Armor of God

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 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. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” ~ Eph. 6: 10-17

Sweet sister, our Abba fights beside you every moment of the day.  Lean into Him and listen for His guidance.  He speaks to His children and His “sheep know [His] voice.”

Don’t stop fighting the good fight, but take seriously the journey that we are all on to “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2: 12).

We are here for a purpose, a mission sent from our Abba, so listen attentively and follow each little step as He leads.  He will not let you down.

And His timing is ALWAYS perfect.

Shalom.

Was this post an encouragement to you today?  Share and comment below.  Your comments mean the world to me, encouraging me immensely, and help me to push onward in this work that the Lord has called me to do.