Saturday, August 22, 2009

Enemy Tactics and Answered Prayer

Matt 4:1 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
4Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’a
5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’b
7Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’c
8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
10Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’d
11Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Our adversary, the devil has not changed tactics from the very beginning. He tries to create doubt and he is bold about it. We see from the text above that he even uses this tactic on Jesus. He says to our Lord "IF you are the Son of God....." to create doubt. If he used this tactic on Jesus do you think he'll use it on you? You bet he will and he does. We are told that we live by faith, not sight. Satan knows it and he comes to create doubt to destroy our faith.

The Lord has been doing one great thing after another in my life and yet each step of the way, I see the working of the adversary. The boldness of the adversary is what is so amazing. Even when it does not take faith any longer to believe and know that I have something, even when my eyes are beholding things the Lord is doing the enemy STILL is trying to create doubt. He whispers "did the Lord really give you that" or "are you sure you really received that" and other demonic doubt laced thoughts like that.

Satan is bold in trying to destroy our faith, we must be bold in employing our faith. This is why the Lord said things like this:

Josua 1:6Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Does it look to you like the Lord was trying to make a point there^^^? It sure does to me. He knows the enemy tactics and he tells us to live by faith. Be strong and very courageous...and he asks have I not commanded you? to drive the point home.

The Lord would have me tell you once again today that he is a God who answers prayer. I have proof that my God exists because I do pray and my prayers are answered. Nobody can prove to me otherwise because nobody else knows all the things I've prayed for and seen first hand all the answers. The enemy will come to you boldly and constantly in an attempt to create doubt, don't give in to him or his whisperings. Take captive every thought, make them all obedient to our Lord in faith. Do not entertain doubts and fears, replace them with "it is written....." and you fill in the blank with the appropriate sword of the spirit, word of God to demolish the arguments of the enemy.

I will say it again: our God answers prayer. Seek his face, pray, stay in the word of God, meditate on it day and night. Pray all kinds of prayers and requests, nothing is too small or too big. Keep the faith, exercise your faith, believe. Keep your eyes focused on the author and finisher of our faith: Jesus. Be strong and very courageous because we serve an ALMIGHTY God who loves us. Expect your prayers to be answered (Mark 11:24). Do not be doubleminded.

I am a living breathing testament to the love and faithfulness of God Almighty. I am writing today to tell you without a doubt our God hears and answers prayer. There are reasons prayers do not get answered and persistent, unrepentant sin is one of them so understand that but thats not what I'm driving at today. Today is a day for you to be greatly encouraged. Know that the least of your brothers has seen miracles and is daily seeing answer to prayer from Almighty God. If the least of your brothers is seeing such things, how much more can the promises and power of our Lord manifest in your life?

There is nothing special about me except for my standing "in Christ." All glory belongs to our Lord and King, that's what this is about. The words written here are a testimony that our God can be trusted (faith) and that he performs and watches over his word to ensure it does what it was sent to do. His praises are on my lips and in my heart today, they overflow onto this page in words of thanks for all that he has done.

Seek his face, keep the faith, pray, believe, expect to see answers to your faithful and fervent prayers. Know that our God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him...

Hebrews 11:6
... But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God mustbelieve that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him

Who knows what tomorrow may bring. We are weeks away from the feast of trumpets 2009. Will the Lord cause the "escape from all" Luke 21:36 to appear sometime this next few weeks? Only he knows. Let us be found one way or another with faith in our hearts and minds and praise on our lips for our God who does deserve all the praise and glory that is due his name.

May his name be praised forever, grace and peace