The apostle Paul tells us we are in a spiritual war with Satan and his forces.
In the Western world, this seems like an exaggeration. But it isn't.
Every believer is automatically in a spiritual battle. Whenever we pray for someone to believe in Jesus, we are threatening Satan's kingdom.
In many parts of the world, people are in a constant struggle with witch doctors and demons. Satan and his schemes are very real to them.
And, we don't have to go far in our own comfortable societies to see the effects of Satan's work. Many people are caught up in a downward spiral of drugs, sexual abuse, and violence.
Of course, the good news is that believers are on the winning side.
As Pete Greig points out in a great video series on prayer, Jesus won the victory when he died on the cross for our sins and rose again, conquering death and sin. But Satan and his works have not yet been completely destroyed.
As someone once said, it's like "D Day" in the Second World War when the allies landed in Normandy. The victory over Nazi Germany was virtually assured after D Day, but there were months of war ahead before the Nazis surrendered.
The world will finally be freed of Satan and his works when Jesus returns.
In the meantime, Pete Greig notes in his video series "The Prayer Course" that we believers can engage in defending ourselves against Satan's attacks and even fight Satan by shedding Jesus' light on the world around us. We defend ourselves by following Paul's guidance in Ephesians 6:10-18 and we advance the kingdom of God by sharing the good news of Jesus and praying.
He says we can pray the promises of God when confronted by evil; we can practice living a godly life in the world around us; and we can talk about the love of Jesus Christ with others.
Greig advocates taking a positive approach by focusing on Jesus rather than spending too much time concentrating on Satan. It's generally better to "plant seeds than to pull up weeds". Since Christ is victorious, we should find our strength and hope in him and use the authority he has given us to deal with Satan's efforts.
Greig suggests, for example, that we can pray good into people - and bless them - rather than "praying bad things out of them". We can use the word of God to combat evil.
Others have noted the power of praising God in fighting the evil one. There have been amazing stories of healing as a result of praising God - freeing those who are afflicted. Satan cannot stand words of praise for Jesus.
He acknowledges that there are confrontations that require direct action against Satan.
You can find Greig's video series at the web site of 24-7 Prayer International, the organization he founded some years ago which now has more than 11,000 prayer centres around the world. The link is http://www.prayercourse.org/
In the Western world, this seems like an exaggeration. But it isn't.
Every believer is automatically in a spiritual battle. Whenever we pray for someone to believe in Jesus, we are threatening Satan's kingdom.
In many parts of the world, people are in a constant struggle with witch doctors and demons. Satan and his schemes are very real to them.
And, we don't have to go far in our own comfortable societies to see the effects of Satan's work. Many people are caught up in a downward spiral of drugs, sexual abuse, and violence.
Of course, the good news is that believers are on the winning side.
As Pete Greig points out in a great video series on prayer, Jesus won the victory when he died on the cross for our sins and rose again, conquering death and sin. But Satan and his works have not yet been completely destroyed.
As someone once said, it's like "D Day" in the Second World War when the allies landed in Normandy. The victory over Nazi Germany was virtually assured after D Day, but there were months of war ahead before the Nazis surrendered.
The world will finally be freed of Satan and his works when Jesus returns.
In the meantime, Pete Greig notes in his video series "The Prayer Course" that we believers can engage in defending ourselves against Satan's attacks and even fight Satan by shedding Jesus' light on the world around us. We defend ourselves by following Paul's guidance in Ephesians 6:10-18 and we advance the kingdom of God by sharing the good news of Jesus and praying.
He says we can pray the promises of God when confronted by evil; we can practice living a godly life in the world around us; and we can talk about the love of Jesus Christ with others.
Greig advocates taking a positive approach by focusing on Jesus rather than spending too much time concentrating on Satan. It's generally better to "plant seeds than to pull up weeds". Since Christ is victorious, we should find our strength and hope in him and use the authority he has given us to deal with Satan's efforts.
Greig suggests, for example, that we can pray good into people - and bless them - rather than "praying bad things out of them". We can use the word of God to combat evil.
Others have noted the power of praising God in fighting the evil one. There have been amazing stories of healing as a result of praising God - freeing those who are afflicted. Satan cannot stand words of praise for Jesus.
He acknowledges that there are confrontations that require direct action against Satan.
You can find Greig's video series at the web site of 24-7 Prayer International, the organization he founded some years ago which now has more than 11,000 prayer centres around the world. The link is http://www.prayercourse.org/
Great post. Very relevant. I like the line about pulling weeds versus planting seeds.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Andrew. The Pete Greig series is good.
ReplyDelete