(Continued)
Call on the name of the Lord
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).
This is not merely limited to our basic original salvation from the eternal Hell we all deserve, but is also wonderfully available to our daily being saved from whatever temptations might come our way. Even when you are simply bored, you can call on the name of the Lord and He will save you from boredom!
Let us pray: I call on Your name Lord Jesus Christ. You said that whosoever, anyone who calls on Your name will be saved. So I am calling on You right now because (mention here whatever may be your problem). Save me, Lord, from Satan’s lies and accusations, save me from boredom, save me from discouragement, save me from pessimism. I believe You. I believe Your Word. I am so glad that You cannot lie. Thank You. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Wield the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God
“Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times with all kinds of prayers, asking for everything you need. (Ephesians 6:17b,18a New Century Version).
In the original Greek, there is no punctuation mark of any kind between the words “Word of God” and “Pray in the Spirit at all times…” What God is actually telling us in Ephesians 6:11-18 is that when we fight Satan and his temptations, accusations, lies, deceptions and efforts to fill us with fear, God has provided an excellent suit of armor to protect us. Most of it is for defensive warfare. The one and only weapon we have to wage offensive warfare against the enemy is the sword of the Holy Spirit, which is the Word of God. Most Christians are not familiar as to how to use the sword, how to handle it, how to grasp the handle, how to wield the sword of the Holy Spirit. Therefore God clearly tells us how. The way it reads in the original Greek makes us realize that GOD WANTS US TO USE HIS WORD IN OUR PRAYERS. He wants us to read His Word prayerfully. Specially when we fight Satan’s temptations. Jesus did. Three times Satan tempted Him. Three times He responded “IT IS WRITTEN!” AND QUOTED A SCRIPTURE! It will be like the dawn of the day, when you begin to read the Bible prayerfully to God, talking it over with God, then prayerfully wielding the Sword of the Spirit, the very verses of the Word of God you happen to be reading at that moment, so that Satan will flee from you.
Let us pray: Thank You Father for providing for me in Christ an armor that Satan cannot puncture and one weapon that Satan cannot withstand. Thank You that You did not leave me empty-handed to be a passive target in Satan’s shooting gallery. Thank You that You have equipped me to wage offensive warfare against Your enemy and mine. You have put a Bible in my hand. I can read it prayerfully, I can read it to You, I can use Your very own words to give me words to pray to You. You sent Your Word to the world as gentle rain on my dry, parched inner being. It will not come back to You void, but will return to You as my prayer, my praise, my thanksgiving and my worship to You, it will accomplish in me Your will. Teach me also to wield Your Word against Your enemy so that he will flee from me and from the ones I pray for. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Live in Christ Who lives in Christians
The Lord Jesus Christ gave us an extraordinary commandment: “Abide in me and I in you.” (John 15:4 King James Version). He wants us Christians to live in Him who lives in Christians, to make our residence, our daily living inside Him and He inside us. Since the just shall live by faith and since faith comes by hearing the Word of God, Jesus made us realize that when we receive His word, we receive Him. He clearly said: “If ye abide in me and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.” (John 15:7).
Let us pray: “Thank You Father, that like a honey-mooning couple that tell one another, `I have you in my heart’ I can tell You that I love to have You in me and I in You. I especially thank You for giving me Your Word, not only to study, but mainly to let Your Word live inside me, to abide in me. Your Word will not be passively stored in the archives of my memory. It will be actively expressed in my daily life. It will vocally be present in my talks with You, in my prayers. Your Word gives me the very words with which to pray to You! This encourages me greatly to ask for what I need, for You promised that if Your Words abides in me, I can ask what I will, and it shall be done to me.
The Magnificent Four
I have reserved four very special blessings as the very end of this chapter. Let us read them now, in the sequence that God Himself has set them:
“AND THEY OVERCAME HIM (Satan)
BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB, AND
BY THE WORD OF THEIR TESTIMONY; AND
THEY LOVED NOT THEIR LIVES UNTO THE DEATH.
THEREFORE REJOICE.” (Revelation 12:11,12a).
As you experience these four, you start with the blood. This will naturally give you a word to testify. This in turn will lead you to cease living for self, to allow your ego to be crucified. This always liberates you to rejoice in the Lord.
The blood
There is tremendous overcoming power in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ shed on the cross and preserved now in heaven to testify in our behalf that we are redeemed, washed from all sin, and presented blameless before the very throne of God. His blood means, of course, Christ’s death in our stead. It also means the termination of Satan’s power. It also gives you and I boldness to stand in God’s presence unashamed, lovingly received and our prayers gladly answered.
The word of our testimony
Likewise there is tremendous overcoming power and authority in the word of our testimony. As we read the Word of God prayerfully, God’s Word is quickened to us; as we pray over the verses we read in the Bible, the Word of God gives us words to pray to God, then becomes our personal experience of God. Thus the Scriptures become the word of our testimony. We can now tell others the experience we have had with God. That is the word of our testimony!
We can even rebuke Satan with the Word of God we prayed about! Jesus did! Be bold. If You are still timorous, then ask Jesus to rebuke Satan for you! He will!
We do not love our soul-lives unto death
We surrender our “bill of rights” to God! We totally submit our will to the Lord. We willingly let Him crucify our self, our ego, our soul-life. That is the only way not to love our self, our ego, our vanities, our pride, in other words, our soul-life. We thus put all our soul-life on the altar of sacrifice, on the cross. We simply trust that the resurrection life of Jesus now lives in us and empowers us to live not in our soul-life, but in the Holy Spirit. We now abide in our Lord Jesus Christ and He abides in us. We live inside Christ who lives inside Christians! Yippee!
Therefore rejoice
“The joy of the Lord is our strength.” Yes, there is a marvelous sequence described in these verses in Revelation 12:11,12a. And it ends in a joyous celebration of the Lord’s triumph over our common enemy. This joy is not only available to you and I, it is now a double commandment: “Rejoice in the Lord always; and again I say, Rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4 King James Version).
Oh wow! This makes me want to pray and praise the Lord! Shall we? Father, forgive me. I’ve been trying to overcome the tempter on my own wits! Now I turn to You, pleading the almighty power You have put at my disposal in the blood of Your Son, my Lord Jesus Christ, shed for me. That precious blood of Jesus not only washes my innermost being spotlessly clean, but also gives me a perfect right to stand before Your throne, clean and unashamed, loving You, kissing You, and worshipping You. Thank You that I can now read Your Word prayerfully, communing with You, talking it over with You, dialoguing with You. Your Word is increasingly becoming the word of my personal testimony!
Now I gladly give myself to You, without any reservations! I totally submit myself to You, dearest Heavenly Father. My ego, self, pride, soul-life have all been put on Christ and terminally crucified. I am crucified with Christ yet I live, although not I, but Christ in me. Oh what a relief! Thank You, Father! I love You!
Now at last, submitted to You, You are now living in me, enabling me to resist the devil and he definitely flees from me, just like You promised in Your Word. I am so glad that You cannot lie! Yippee! Victory! Thank You for this absolutely sure way of defeating our common enemy, Your enemy and mine. Satan has already been defeated in the crucifixion of Your Son Jesus.
Now I can celebrate the resurrection triumph of Your Son. I can rejoice in the Lord always. I can even say that again, I rejoice in the Lord! In the name of the Great Overcomer, my Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
From Conversing With God – Chapter 7