You have to learn to fight your own battles if you want to become a mature believer. You can’t always depend on someone else for your deliverance. Perhaps you have a prayer warrior friend you can call and say, “I’ve got a battle before me. Will you pray for me? I know you have power with God!”
Now that is scriptural, but it is not God’s complete will for you. God wants you to become a warrior. He wants you to be able to stand up against the devil.
With all the talk going on in the church about spiritual warfare, Christians still have not learned how to stand up to the enemy. We are pushovers for the devil!
I don’t believe every misfortune that befalls a Christian comes from the devil. We wrongly blame him for a lot of our own carelessness, disobedience and laziness. It’s easy to blame the devil for our foolishness. That way, we don’t have to deal with it. There is a real devil present in the world today, though, and he is busy at work.
You’ve heard of the prayer of faith. I believe there is a mirror image of this prayer, a prayer that is based on flesh. I call it the prayer of unbelief.
The Lord spoke these very words to Moses: “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Why do you cry to me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward’” (Exodus 14:15, NKJV). Essentially, this verse in Hebrew would have read something like “Why are you shrieking at me? Why all the loud pleading in my ears?”
Let me give you one of the most powerful verses in all of scripture. Proverbs give us these prophetic words of Christ: “Then I was beside him as a master craftsman; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him, rejoicing in his inhabited world, and my delight was with the sons of men” (Proverbs 8:30-31, NKJV).
Many Christians talk about intimacy with the Lord, walking with him, knowing him, having fellowship with him; but we can’t have true communion with God unless we receive into our hearts the full revelation of his love, grace and mercy.
Communion with God consists of two things:
1. Receiving the love of the Father
2. Loving him in return
Whenever opposition arises, God’s grace thrives in us. Think about what happens to a tree when a great storm beats violently against it. The wind threatens to uproot the tree and carry it away. It breaks off branches and blows away its leaves. It loosens its roots and blows off its buds. When the storm is over, things look hopeless.
Some believers can tell you all about their spiritual growth, and you can clearly see the changes in their lives. They testify to you about how the Holy Ghost has vanquished the enemy for them, and you rejoice with them in their victory.
Anyone can keep his joy when he’s riding high in the Holy Ghost, not being tried or tempted. God wants us to keep ourselves in his love at all times, especially in our temptations.
One thing that can keep us going in the coming hard times is an understanding of God’s glory. Now, this may sound like a lofty concept best left to theologians, but I’m convinced the subject of God’s glory has very real value for every true believer. By grasping it, we unlock the door to an overcoming life.
One particular time, I was stirred by the Holy Spirit, and he led me to this passage: “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (Jude 1:20-21, NKJV). As I read, I heard the Spirit whisper, “David, you’ve never come into the fullness and joy of my love.”