Chapter 67
We need to fully understand that the battleground is within our“thought” realm, right between our ears. The mind is the place of warfare, and the degree of our success will depend upon our ability to control and monitor our thoughts. The evil people in the occult bookstore who were praying against me fully intended to drive me to the point of literally grabbing my wife and kids, fleeing town, and quitting the walk with my Lord. When I was in the midst of the battle, it “seemed” like the devil was in the supreme position. The battle was being directed toward me personally by a number of people at this bookstore that knew how to produce spiritual warfare against god’s children. This is no different from being attacked by a mob physically, except the attack was from spiritual forces within my thought realms.
While in Kansas, I witnessed a spirit filled pastor and his wife separate and divorce. I am convinced it was because of the intense spiritual warfare against them that their marriage was destroyed. Most Christians are totally unsuspecting of spiritual warfare. Most churches have not properly equipped the saints for real spiritual warfare; therefore, each of us will have to learn on our own with the Holy Spirit teaching us. Spiritual warfare is one of the main ways that we begin to mature in the Christian arena. It is God’s crucible of growth and development. The devil is real, and his mission isto maim, kill, and destroy us.
Prayer is the most important element next to obedience for a successful walk with God. This is the most important ingredient for receiving anything from the heavenly realm. Learning how
to pray and receive our orders from God is essential, especially during the times coming on our country when it will seem as if the devil is running the show. Scripture refers to these times as the “time of the heathen.” “For the day [is] near, even the day of the LORD[is] near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.”1Prayer, Bible reading, quiet time, and humble submission are of paramount Importance for surviving during these times.
In the midst of the warfare, I was not thinking about the people in the occult bookstore. I was under such weight of warfare that I did not know if I could survive one day to the next. In this trial, god was allowing me to be tested to see if I would persevere through or turn and run. Only by His grace did I gain the victory. The Christian walk is a walk in spiritual warfare, and if we fail to embrace this concept, we are already deceived and will suffer defeat. Our enemy is very real; he wants to destroy us and knows our weaknesses; therefore, we have to remain close to God through daily intercession and Bible reading. These are not options!
Prayer and intercession is speaking to god and reminding Him of the scriptures that support our situation in this warfare, asking Him to intervene for ourselves or someone else. As someone once said, “interceding is ‘enter seeding,’” and when we pray during warfare for ourselves or someone else, we need to include praying and speaking the Word of god. God’s Word is good planting seed for our lives. It will produce!