Reflections of Grace 81: Life Purpose Coaching part 17 - Engaging in Warfare

Reflections of Grace

We have an enemy. He is not happy when we are involved in changing lives for the Kingdom of God. He is hoping we will forget and succumb to him, but we know that “Greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.” Satan roams around like a lion “seeking whom he may devour”... notice it says “seeking”… not all of us have our heads in the sand. We have to be on our guard and walking in the presence of Jesus and not allow ourselves to be distracted by the noise of the enemy, and believe me he will make a lot of noise.

· I have realized it is going to take a supernatural life to be able to withstand evil attacks in these coming days. It is time folks, to determine that whatever else our goals and hopes are for this year we need to be seeking the strengthening of our souls.

· Remember, we are a spirit, (the part that is born again with the receiving of Jesus as Lord of our life), we have a soul, which is our mind, will, and emotions, and we live in a body. The bible talks about the renewing of our soul daily. Not our spirits. They are already born again and saved for eternity. Our SOULS… our minds!! They have to be renewed daily to what God says about us and so that we can recognize what the enemy says about us. This is why the bible teaches us that we are not fighting against flesh and blood, but against principalities and darkness and everything that exalts itself over and against our God.

So, how do I fight my wars? Yesterday, I went for a walk with Jesus, by the ocean. It was a glorious day of sunshine and I was totally focusing on Jesus and seeking His strength in the trials I am facing right now. There are some things that seem impossible in the natural; things happening in my life right now, and I could feel the struggle within my soul of good over evil. Fear was hovering off to my side just waiting to grab hold of my thought life. I could feel its insidious force trying to penetrate. I kept my course. I started praying every scripture I could think of. When I ran out of things to say I repeated the name of Jesus over and over. I looked up and there on the mountainside was this hideous rock formation that resembled the face of a demon with a fish body. It seemed to be mocking me. For a moment my environment seemed dark. I looked through the forest off to my side and it was dark. And then I looked again and there were all these streams of bright light penetrating the darkness. Out of my mouth I began to sing, out of Psalms 25:

Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul

Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul

O my God, I trust in thee:

Let me not be ashamed,

Let not mine enemiestriumph over me.

I sang it over and over until I felt the temptation to fear leave me. Throughout the rest of the day I continued to hear evil reports but I maintained my thoughts on the possibilities of Jesus and what He so wants to accomplish in my life.

There are so many tools he gives us to fight this good fight of faith and to keep our shields up to ward off the fiery darts that Satan aims at us.

1. Pray the word. Put your name right in there as you pray. Or pray the word over your family or others you may be called to pray for until you see God’s intervention. Faith comes by hearing yourself speak truth!! An example: Psalms 91:1&2:

Lord, I thank you that because I dwell in the secret place of You, oh most high, I shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of You, my Almighty God, whose power NO foe can withstand...”

2. Sing the word of God. I love singing my prayers. It slows down my mind. And many times, in the Spirit, I have heard Him singing back to me in my own voice in answer to my song. It is really beautiful.

3. Let the Holy Spirit pray through you. Just go with it and His leading in however He shows you to pray.

4. When the heat is turned up and I just can’t seem to pray anything, I just say the name of Jesus over and over. In Acts it says that there is no other name as powerful as the name of Jesus, and at the mention of that name every knee has to bow in both heaven and earth. So the way I see it, even if you can’t do anything else when you just say His name He is right there fighting for you.

The real secret to really dwelling in His presence is pretty simple. Be intimate with Him. Sit with Him. Journal to Him. Have coffee with Him. Get to know Him. Let Him speak to you and step out in faith and believe that it is Him. In that way, you learn to recognize His voice over the voice of Satan. Remember it is His sheep that hear His voice and the voice of a stranger they will not follow.

? How do you find sweet peace while you sleep without the barrage of worry that hits many of us in the middle of the night? Or bad dreams?

? When you feel the urging of the spirit to spend some time to fight off the demons of hell that are attacking you or your loved ones, how do you do it?

? How do you saturate yourself in Him to the point you are constantly aware of His presence in this day and age without following a formula or ritual that doesn’t come from the heart?

· I am all for simplicity. I hate it when people make the gospel so difficult that it seems like we could never attain what we are believing for. It is easier than religion ever taught, friends. Religion is based on rules, formulas, works and such, that, in essence, we can not live up too. When we really know Him it still takes determination to NOT settle for less than is available to you. In my simplicity, I will share with you what I do to accomplish these things. Not that I have all the answers by any means. But such as I have I will freely share with you.

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” (John 10:10)