![]() ![]() It is an intentional, daily, abiding time with our Lord God. I believe the word dwelling implies inhabitation, not an occasional visitation. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’” ![]() The top need of my own personal prayer is based on Psalm 91:1–2: “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Let’s look at two relationships where the enemy seeks to divide:įirst, Satan wants to divide us from our Lord God Himself.Īgain, we see Satan’s attempt to get Jesus to worship him. One of Satan’s most effective strategies is to create mistrust, suspicion, and division. His response, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’” (v. But Jesus was victorious in walking in the Spirit with His Father.Īll three of the recorded temptations in Matthew 4 point to ways Jesus would have brought division to the holy relationship of God the Father and God the Son (Himself) if He had given in to the devil. Satan’s approach is always intentionally timed. What an opportune time for warfare! Jesus was weary from the wilderness, hungry from a long fast. Certainly the enemy despised Jesus’ victory and preparedness. Fasting draws one deeply into the Lord’s presence and purposes. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry” (Matt. He personally experienced Satan at work when He “was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. We will go through spiritual warfare just as Jesus did. He knew God’s very name has ultimate authority. When Jehoshaphat did not know what to do, he cried out to God and stayed focused on Him. Jehoshaphat called upon God when surrounded by enemies-and God spared the Israelites by turning their enemies on each other. Many times, when under assault, I have quietly called Jesus, Jesus, Jesus in my spirit and released the battle to Him as 2 Chronicles 20 teaches. I knew the Holy Spirit had guided my “SOS prayer” with no other words than His name. Instant relief and joy flooded my senses. She had some scratches but was otherwise unharmed. Within moments the endangered girl’s boot came off, releasing her from the binding of the stirrup. However, their power in motion is fearsome when they are out of control. Horses are beautiful creations of God’s hand. Its rider was being dragged beneath it, and I knew the young girl’s life was in danger. Last fall I was horseback riding with two young girls. Can His name alone carry such authority in the spiritual realm? Yes! Jesus expressed in His prayer that the power of His Father’s name (in turn given to Jesus) delivered the disciples from the enemy. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” (emphasis added). I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. ![]() “I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me” (v. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. ![]() “I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Yet what is the foundation of our spiritual protection? In the prayer with His Father, recorded in John 17, Jesus gives us the answer: Yes, absolutely all Christians need divine protection! I expect we all have a testimony to prove it. As followers of Jesus Christ, do we really need spiritual protection? Since we have an enemy whose goals are nothing short of “to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10), it is clear. ![]()
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